


Keep On Following Canopus

by DancingSkys



Series: J0806 [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute, Don't worry, Dyslexia, Dyslexic Peter Parker, Established Relationship, Fluff, Harley Keener is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Interviews, M/M, May owns a bakery, Peter Parker Wears Glasses, Peter Parker isn't Spider-Man, Protective Harley Keener, Social Media, Swearing, Twitter, YouTube, because it's Harley, because we need that, but in a good way, but there is a plot, there are puppies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:07:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 25,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25697020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DancingSkys/pseuds/DancingSkys
Summary: Harley and Peter are stepping more into the public eye. People are getting more interested in them, thus they end up giving quite some interesting interviews.Peter is meanwhile struggling with whether or not he wants to be open about his dyslexia but thankfully Harley is right there for cuddles and words of support.-----A compilation of some interviews and wholesome interactions between Harley and Peter. Plus a lot of online people.
Relationships: Harley Keener/Peter Parker
Series: J0806 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1751209
Comments: 46
Kudos: 313





	Keep On Following Canopus

**Author's Note:**

> After the - quite frankly - devastating last installment of this series I shall present you some wholesome Parkner. (I hope everyone is doing okay)  
> I'm not really that happy with this story as I had hoped to be but I thought those you enjoy the series might still want to read it. It's a bit of a different style from what I've tried before but please give it a chance~  
> Thank you to the kind soul who kind of beta read this to make sure I was on track with Peter's dyslexia, you helped a bunch <3
> 
> The title is not as original as the last ones but alas. Canopus us the brightest star in the Carina constellation and represents part of a ship. I just like the metaphor of sailing and making your way through uncertain waters for this one. (Also the ship has sailed)
> 
> There are some easter eggs (I guess?) that I chose for the usernames, others are just random.  
> If you want to yell with me about anything you are more than welcome to do so~

**10 Things You Did Not Know About Peter Parker**

1) His middle name is Benjamin

We have all come to appreciate the wonderful alliteration that is Peter Parker’s name. Imagine our surprise when we discovered Peter actually has a middle name and sadly it does not fit into the alliteration. His middle name is Benjamin which is a cute name but we all still prefer Peter.   
(We are certain it is a new tradition to have someone with PP initials as a partner in the Stark family.)

2) He’s smart

If you haven’t heard already; Peter is studying biochemistry at NYU and has his own project in the works. He has never published any specific information about it but as far as we know it is an attempt to come up with a new alternative for single-use plastics. His solution is supposed to be biodegradable and we really want to see it. 

3) He’s a Barista

According to people on Twitter Peter works at a café as a barista and apparently, he does a really good job at it. No one has publicized the name of the café yet. They say they want to respect his privacy and therefore refuse to tell fellow fans the name or the location. All we know is that it is a café in New York, most probably Manhattan and that the pastries seem to have corny names. We’ll stay on it for you. 

4) Late Start

As previously mentioned, Peter is enrolled in biochemistry at NYU. He did not immediately start university after high school though. He was actually two years late. We do not know what he did during this time but we assume he might have been working or traveling. Maybe he just needed some time off. We do, however, notice that he only started attending university after meeting Harley. If this is a coincident or not, who knows. 

5) No Caffein

Although he works as a barista at a café, Peter does not seem to enjoy coffee. In one of Harley’s Instagram posts, the two boys could be seen with drinks in their hands. In the caption, Harley bemoaned that his boyfriend did not enjoy the energizing and quite popular drink much to his dismay. 

6) Big Lenses

We have sadly never seen Peter without his glasses. They are a constant accessory he doesn’t seem to want to part with. Although we enjoy the smart, nerdy look, we’d love to see Peter without his rimmed lenses. Guys are just that much more attractive when you can see their eyes.

7) Kind Aura

People who have met Peter often swoon about his kind aura. They say they feel very comfortable around Peter and listened to. He seems to be an approachable young man who enjoys conversing with people. It is no surprise Harley decided to have someone like him by his side. Social butterflies are always a great asset to have when you need to score points with the public. Peter’s image is squeaky clean and we hope it’ll stay that way.

8) Stargazing

Again we can conclude this fact from Harley’s Instagram where he posts about his boyfriend’s adorable interest occasionally. Peter has a fascination with space and horoscopes. As a Leo Peter is a natural-born leader and we are curious to see how this will affect his relationship with Harley.

9) Academic Decathlon

Peter was part of the Academic Decathlon team during his high school years. They managed to win nationals during his last year. This is just another proof that Peter is smarter than most people. 

10) Down to Earth

As far as we know Peter is not from the upper social circles. He’s a normal boy from New York who just happened to be in the right place at the right time. It’s not surprising Harley snatched him up. Having a down-to-earth lover by his side to keep him grounded is crucial in his position. Their social differences don’t seem to mean much to them although we would love to see what goes on behind the scenes. 

  
  


Harley was glaring daggers at his tablet, brows furrowed so much it was almost painful. His lips were pursed in distaste and yeeting the tablet out of the window sounded like a good idea.

“Hey.” Peter leaned forward and poked Harley’s forehead between his eyebrows with two fingers, moving them apart to smooth out his eyebrows. “Scowl any harder and it’ll stay that way.”

Harley huffed, amused for two seconds but then he was back to frowning albeit not as hard as before. Peter had leaned back and was now looking at him calmly, trying to piece the pieces together. There were several options; someone had fucked something up, the code wasn’t working as intended, someone wanted Harley to attend an early meeting, a video showing how to fold your clothes properly or someone swooning over mushy brownies. It could be something serious or completely blatant. 

Peter poked Harley’s side with his foot, only once at first and then more when he didn’t get the desired reaction. He wanted to know what was going on even if it was completely blatant. Harley just swatted at his foot, grunting in dismay when the assault didn’t stop. One hand shot out, seizing Peter’s ankle and pulling it up to keep it from attacking any further. Harley fake glared at Peter who just grinned innocently, toes wiggling. 

“What’s up?” he asked in that sweet caring voice of his, open and not judging. Harley was powerless against it. He was powerless against Peter in the first place but when his lovely boyfriend started showing very obvious interest in Harley’s well-being… well, that was just too much. 

Harley sighed and lowered the other’s foot onto the bed, keeping his hand around his ankle and rubbing his thumb over a soft spot there. Peter had pretty ankles, don’t judge him. When he wore cropped jeans and sneakers and Harley could stare at his ankles freely - well, let's just say he understood why Victorian men had been so excited about seeing a lady’s ankles. “Just a stupid article.”

Peter pressed his lips into a line, expression staying neutral otherwise. “Hm.” His toes wiggled a little more and Harley’s lizard brain thought about biting them. Just to see what would happen. “You shouldn’t read stupid articles.”

“Didn’t sound stupid at first.”

Peter snorted. “Yeah okay but if it wasn’t scientific I’m pretty sure it was stupid. The amount of times they managed to portray you as a completely different person is astounding. I’m questioning if I’m actually dating the same person sometimes.” Sadly the words didn’t have the intended response. 

Harley was silent, gaze trailing off across the room. His thumb rubbed a little more intensely at Peter’s ankle. “Wasn’t about me.” He turned to look at his boyfriend. “Was about you.”

For a brief moment, Peter looked surprised, eyes round behind his glasses before his expression settled into something more relaxed. “All the more reason not to read it. Doubt they can say much about me.” It wasn’t that he was hiding, but he wasn't very public either. He rarely updated his social media accounts and he wasn’t the one giving most of the interviews. Fans occasionally caught him out and about or someone would ask a few questions while Harley was being interviewed but Peter didn’t seek out public attendance.

“They think they can,” Harley sighed heavily. “But it’s all just stupid and it makes me mad.”

A disapproving grunt escaped Peter and he crawled forward. Harley released his ankle and raised his arms a bit when Peter crawled into his lap, putting the tablet away and snuggling up to the other. “No more reading articles or I’m gonna turn off the wifi.”

Harley gasped. “You wouldn’t!”

“I would.”

“That’s inhumane!”

“And the entire time I’d snuggle you.”

“Torture!”

Peter smirked against Harley’s neck, inching closer. “Poor you.”

Harley grumbled, winding his arms around Peter. He leaned to one side just slightly before hauling him off his lap so he’d be on his back next to him and going down with an elegant flop onto Peter’s chest which drew an unappreciative grunt out of his boyfriend. “Oh, Jesus, you walrus.”

“The walrus wants to cuddle,” Harley grumbled into Peter’s shirt. The latter just snickered and started running his fingers through the hair in front of his face. “Sure, whatever the walrus wants, the walrus gets.”

“I’m the walrus king.”

“Sure.”

“Appreciate me.”

“I do. Perfect cuddle buddy.”

Harley hummed, nodding his head in a satisfied manner.

One thing no one knew about Peter; his hugs were the best and Harley would kill for them.

**Harley Keener @PotatoSupreme**

[The first picture showed a setting similar to a futuristic laboratory though with homey elements. There was a lot of natural light and cluttered desks but also a comfy couch in the background. You could see Peter standing in the center of the picture in front of a holoscreen. He wore a white sweater with the sleeves pushed up and a pair of blue jeans. His arms were half crossed in front of his chest, one supporting his elbow while his hand was raised to his face as if he had just been deep in thought. His hair was curly and his glasses were in place as usual. His expression was a mixture of surprised and curious, looking slightly above the camera.

The second picture was taken just a moment later. This time Peter had a genuinely sweet smile on his face.]

Taken before and after saying “I love you”.

I freaking love this nerd.

  
  


**Peter Parker @peterbparker**

[The picture showed a similar setting to Harley’s pictures but taken from a different angle and at a different time. Harley had a pair of safety goggles pushed up into his messy hair and a screwdriver in one hand. On the table behind him was an arrangement of different metallic parts and screws that surely wouldn’t make sense to anyone out of the loop. Harley wore a T-shirt and sweatpants. He was focused on a spot behind the camera, eyebrows slightly raised in question.

The second picture was the same except now Harley had lowered his hand with the screwdriver and his expression was the personification of offendedness, mouth open in shock, and eyebrows drawn together. It was the perfect meme material.]

Taken before and after telling him I ate all of his strawberries.  
Love this idiot.

  
  


**Peter Parker @peterbparker**

[Shown was Harley with an expression of childish excitement, holding a container of strawberries in his hands. He wore the same clothes as before so it must have been only shortly afterward.]

Bought him new ones ofc

> **Harley Keener @PotatoSupreme** **  
**> RuDE! My strawberries are SAcReD!

>> **Peter Parker @peterbparker**

>> <3

**Our Interview with Peter Parker**

The re-uploaded video started and shown was a red carpet like setting. There were people in evening attire and cameras. Interviewers were asking questions and holding microphones into people’s faces while big cameras filmed all of it. Names were being shouted, pictures were taken and some people, who might be managers or security personnel, stood around like forgotten garden gnomes. 

In front of the camera stood a woman with wavy hair and a big microphone in her hand. Her dress accentuated the curve of her waist and hips through the dark green fabric. An assortment of sparkly embellishments decorated the neckline. 

“There we can see Tony Stark, he is…” the reporter trailed off as she tried to explain what was going on. It was difficult as Tony Stark could not be explained by a mere mortal being no matter what he was doing. “I think he is… um…” She craned her neck, leaning from side to side to get a better picture. “I assume he might be giving an interview?” It was more of a question since the man was actually fiddling with a device while a male reporter tried to get his attention.

“Oh, over there we have Mr. and Mrs. Charleston. Beautiful dress Mrs. Charleston is wearing. It is a low-cut Ralph Lauren gown embellished with Swarovski crystals. Wonderful choice. More attendees are arriving as we speak, the carpet is getting busier. Keep watching, we’ll be interviewing more people as the red carpet goes on.”

Behind her, a group of men was ushered past. She tried to ask a question but they were gone too quickly and one security guard gave her an unamused stare. The host never lost her smile and just continued as nothing had happened. “A multitude of guests will be attending tonight’s events. We have people coming from all over the world to support this charity event.” She continued explaining what the event was about, occasionally pointing out people and giving a few comments. She managed to snag one person and ask what he was expecting from the evening. 

“I’m just here for the food,” the man joked with a charming expression before continuing on his way with his manager or security guard. The host smiled, nodded, and went back to commenting on a woman’s choice of attire. 

“Just there we can see Harley Keener and Peter Parker,” she pointed out excitedly. “The couple has been attending more events recently and the internet is especially curious about them.”

As if to support this statement the chat of the live stream suddenly got a lot more lively and a few more people joined as the news was spread. Since the video was a re-upload it wasn’t happening in real-time though. The host, being informed about this development through her earpiece decided on a new strategy. She waved her hand and the camera panned over to where the couple could be seen through masses of people. 

“Harley is the son of Tony Stark and grew up hidden from the public until just last year. In recent months he and his partner started attending more events. Harley has a master’s degree in engineering and Peter is a biochemistry student at NYU.”

The host shifted and tried to keep an eye on them. “They are coming in our direction and oh- it looks like they were just stopped by Vanity Fair and they are asking Harley some questions. Maybe if we just-” She stepped forward a little. “Peter! Peter Parker, over here! A few questions please!”

She got the attention of Peter who looked over curiously. The rest was done just through a few looks. One look at Harley who was both listening to the interviewer asking him questions and noticing what else was going on. He inclined his head just slightly and sent Peter a quick encouraging nod. Peter then glanced at a man behind him who didn’t look amused but also gave a curt nod after staring at the team for a few moments. He must be a security guard judging from the stern look on his face.

Peter smiled and parted from Harley who was answering how he was planning to implement his own ideas into Stark Industries’ plans while the interviewer listened with fascination. He stepped over to the team and the host sent a quick look of excitement at the camera before schooling her expression just slightly. 

“Hello Peter, hi, come in, come in.” She ushered him in front of the camera into the spot next to her. “Hi, Judi Collins from BBC Radio 1. We’re currently streaming live on Twitter.” This was something she had to say so the interviewees were aware they couldn’t cut anything out. 

Peter took a moment to process but never lost his smile. “Oh, alright, hi.”

Judi nodded. “I just have to ask, who are you wearing this evening? You look fantastic.” His suit was tailored perfectly, the white flowy shirt underneath his suit jacket not buttoned up all the way so you could see his collarbones. 

“Thank you,” Peter said bashfully, still trying to get used to the way interviewers and reporters often just threw out these compliments about anything but especially about his appearance. He had never been called “dashingly handsome” or “dangerously attractive” before but both had been said to his face without fanfare by people with a microphone in their hand. Sometimes it felt incredibly superficial but now and then it felt genuine. Usually, it happened too quickly and in hectic situations so he rarely had time to process the words properly before they continued talking. 

“I have to be honest and say I have no idea.” He fixed his glasses with a sheepish smile, subconsciously noticing he was only doing this because he was nervous. This was not something he had been prepared for when he had grown up and now it was suddenly supposed to be normal. Giving interviews and such. Peter still couldn’t believe he was attending these events as a guest and not just watching them at home through a screen or hearing about them later on social media. “I-” he turned around to Harley, his voice slightly muffled for as long as he was turned away from the mic- “haven’t really…” he trailed off and turned back to the interviewer, rephrasing his answer, “I always get told but I can never remember, I’m so sorry.”

“That’s completely fine,” Judi reassured. It was usually a basic question and the designers would love to have their names out there but no one was required to cite who had dressed them. “Now, what do you expect from this evening?” She held her mic back towards him. 

“Well, this is a charity event of the September Foundation which was created to help children with autoimmune diseases, disabilities and chronic illnesses. It is to get people’s attention and bring awareness to the issue and hopefully get people to donate. So I hope this evening helps to get more funding towards a very important cause and lets parents and their children know where they can seek help.”

Judi blinked a few times, flailing for a second because this was not the answer she had expected. Most people at these events were here for the publicity and would promote something of their own agenda or not be very well-informed about the background of the event. It wasn’t that she has had low expectations for Peter, he has proven to be a very nice gentleman and was quite intelligent, but to have him speak about the purpose of the event was still surprising.

But Judi was a trained professional so she picked up on the direction and fired her next question. Sadly they never had much time for proper interviews at these events. Any moment a security guard or a manager could come up and pull Peter away. She had to make the best of what she had and keep the people interested in their live stream. “Were you able to donate?”

Peter’s smile turned a bit sheepish but he didn’t flounder. “I don’t have the most reliable finances so I’m not in a position where I can donate much but I was able to donate together with Harley through Stark Industries. We donated money and also some equi- equen- equipment and other resources that were needed.” The small stumble was corrected quickly and Peter didn’t react to it in any way. Instead, he directed his attention towards the camera, something that was still foreign to him but this was an important message and the people deserved to be addressed properly. “If you’d like to help but don’t have the financial means; the September Foundation has a website where you can look up different ways of how to help. They accept donations such as books or toys or you could be a penpal for someone amongst other things.”

He shifted his attention back to Judi, patiently waiting for her next question. She quickly realized this was not a usual interview where she would ask unimportant or superficial questions. Peter seemed to be keen on keeping the focus on the event and while Judi knew people were curious to hear about Peter’s favorite food, his latest fashion interests and maybe his vacation plans she decided she could give Peter a platform to talk about what was important to him. As a journalist, this was one of the things she was supposed to do. Among finding out why a celebrity enjoyed avocado toast so much and if they planned on having another child. 

This was admittedly more interesting and quite refreshing. 

“Can you tell us why it is, in your eyes, important to support this foundation?”

Peter smiled, more than happy to answer. “Of course. It’s important to support children with autoimmune diseases, disabilities and chronic illnesses because they rely on others to receive the help they need. Parents might be overwhelmed or don’t have the financial means to get their child the right treatment or even a diagnosis. There are professionals who can help figure out things such as education, medication and therapy. Children deserve to receive the help and care they need because they can’t do it themselves.”

Judi nodded, glancing at her team quickly who were all quite impressed. “Are there any plans for Stark Industries to donate to more foundations?”

“Oh my,” Peter laughed lightly. “I’m not really working at SI and I’m not involved in any of the business but I do know that Mr. Stark, Mrs. Potts and Harley have always supported a multitude of foundations and I’m certain they will continue to do so in the future. There are things in the planning phase that I can’t tell you about but supporting foundations and helping those in need is very important to the people of SI.”

“Anything you can tell us about that?” Judi tried to dig deeper. Getting some information no one else had would be amazing. She was still a journalist after all. 

Peter shook his head, having no problem to deny her. “No, sorry. I’m not a spokesperson for SI so I can’t really tell you anything. I’m probably not even supposed to know about it but I was kind of pulled into it.” He sent a glance towards Harley who was getting three mics shoved into his face, charming smile in place and talking about something. “And my boyfriend tells me literally everything.”

Judi laughed, not minding the deflection very much. She was more than used to it and did not dwell on it. “So hypothetically you know what SI has in store for us in the future?”

Peter grinned. “Hypothetically I know everything. Officially,” he looked at the camera knowingly, “I know absolutely nothing because no one ever tells me what goes on in these super-secret meetings that my boyfriend attends. He never tells me about it and absolutely never shows me any of his super-secret plans on his super-secret tablet.” He nodded seriously.

“Of course.” Judi played along. “So is there anything worth mentioning you could tell us about now? Officially.”

“Not at this time, sorry.”

“That’s alright. Is there anything you’d like to say the children and parents who might profit from this foundation?”

Peter took a moment to think about his answer, glad the digging had stopped. The press still made him a bit nervous because they could be just like vultures. The journalist had thankfully backed off at an appropriate time but there were others who weren’t this considerate. 

“Well first of all it is important to seek help and there is no shame in needing help to support your kid or to need help as a person who is struggling.” He pursed his lips. Judi guessed he was not done yet so she waited for a few beats. “Things can be a lot easier when the system does not work against you so use whatever resources you have to make it easier. It doesn’t have to be hard and difficult and doing things slower or different is completely valid and healthy.” He nodded his head, seemingly satisfied.

Someone called his name and Peter turned towards the man who had been keeping an eye on him and Harley the entire time. He beckoned the young man over and Peter nodded, giving Judi an apologetic smile. “Seems like I need to get going.”

“Thank you for your time, Peter. We hope you enjoy the evening,” Judi said, used to interviews finding a quick end. 

“Thank you!” Peter directed his gaze towards the camera once more. “Everyone please educate yourselves, stay informed and donate if you can.” He waved with a sweet smile and was then herded away together with Harley who had also been released from his own interviews. Their hands connected as soon as they were within reach. Harley leaned over to whisper something into his boyfriend’s ear.

“Everyone who is watching,” Judi said and turned towards the camera, “you can find more information on the September Foundation website. A link for donations is in the description of this live stream. Please consider donating or using other means at your disposal to support the foundation.” She turned back towards the attendees and pointed out who else had arrived while she had been interviewing Peter. 

**S** **quirrleWars**   
damn, Peter out here doing humanitarian work when he isn’t representing a company and is not super famous. the guy is just that good

 **memechilli**   
did you see the look on her face when he talked about what the event was actually for? girl couldn’t believe someone was actually educated

 **I don’t have a name**   
I think the interviewer did a good job here. She noticed where he was going and went in that direction. Too often they just ignore the people they are interviewing and plow on with prepared questions. These were obviously not prepared in advance and she managed to go with the flow and backed off when it was appropriate. 

**Mila Brown**   
as a teen with chronic illness this was so nice to hear. I almost forgot what this event was actually about with everyone parading around in their sparkly dresses and million dollar suits. what Peter said really struck a nerve 

**BLMstan**   
I’m stanning the right people, look at our boy!

 **JackSparrowParrot**   
Peter admitting he doesn’t have the resources to donate much himself is valid

 **Kimchi Sushi**   
lol Peter basically said “Imma poor student but I got a rich boyfriend so he can cash out for all them charities” I can relate btw but I’ll go see what other options there are. the penpal thing sounds kinda cool actually

 **elvis**   
did you see the look on his face when she asked what he wanted to say to the kids? kinda makes me feel like he has experience with this kinda stuff. what he said too, sounds like its coming from someone who knows exactly what they are talking about

 **boink**   
Interviewer: so who are you wearing?   
Peter: the september foundation needs donations to help kids with autoimmune diseases, disabilities and chronic illnesses, please consider donating   
I love him

 **just swag**   
am I imagining things or can you see Harley just looking over like the proud boyfriend he is   
look at his face, that smug look. he be like “yeah, that’s ma boyfriends losers!”

 **Jessica Allison**   
the big guy behind them was so stressed to have them in two different places lol   
look at him looking back and forth the entire time   
I’d be stressed af too tbh

 **SoupSoup**   
what Peter said almost made me cry. I’ll ask my mom to check out this foundation together with me tomorrow. I live in a different state but maybe there is something they can do

 **Jimin Parkin**   
omg I have never heard of this foundation but it sounds amazing!!?!??! I gotta check out their website asap

 **gayNoLess**   
this warms my heart. look at him go, promoting the foundation and telling people to donate. he even educated himself what this was about and didn’t just go to party. he’s amazing. 

**Lucy McClain**   
I have a daughter with an autoimmune disease and I have rarely seen people Peter’s age taking this seriously and using their platform to spread awareness. I’m so glad he did this, it means so much to have people starting a conversation about in the way he did. 

**sad sheep**   
“It doesn’t have to be hard and difficult and doing things slower or different is completely valid and healthy.”   
Damn that hit way too close to home bro

 **nothoughts_headempty**   
really seems like he has experience with shit like this. just the look in his eyes when he said the system might be working against you

**Harley Keener and Peter Parker Answer the Web’s Most Searched Questions | WIRED**

The video opened to a white backdrop in a well-lit studio. Peter was sitting on the left side with Harley next to him. 

“Hey everybody, I’m Harley Keener-” he pointed to himself before pointing to Peter and leaning slightly towards him- “this is Peter Parker and we’re doing the WIRED autocomplete interview!” Harley said, spreading his arms like he was announcing a circus performance. Peter looked at him weirdly.

Background music started and the logo flipped up onto the screen before it faded to white. A quick explanation of ‘autocomplete’ was given before the focus was back on the two guests. Peter was still looking at Harley. 

“What?” Harley asked innocently. 

“You’ve been practicing that,” Peter said nonchalantly.

Harley gasped and leaned back. “I did not!”

“I heard you.”

“Impossible!”

Peter looked at the camera and raised his brows as if to say ‘do you see this shit?’. He was dressed in a white shirt with a loose neckline and a well-worn jeans jacket over it. The arms were rolled up just slightly and there was a delicate silver chain bracelet around his left wrist. His pants were black and distressed in some areas. As always his trusty pair of glasses was perched onto his nose. 

_So WIRED asked Harley Keener and Peter Parker some of the internet’s most burning questions_ appeared on a white background. _Here is what they had to say_ came afterward before the two guests took up the screen again.

Harley waved his hand as if to shoo away an offending conspiracy. “Nonsense. Anyway, gimme a card.” He leaned forward and reached for the white card a staff member was handing him from behind the camera. “There we go.” He fell back into his seat with a huff and took a glance at the card. 

His short-sleeved henley shirt was in a color somewhere between deep orange and brown. It looked good on him but the color was indescribable. Together with his jeans it was a very casual look, similar to Peter’s. Not too shabby but also not trying too hard. 

“Does Peter Parker,” Harley read from the printed search bar, turning the card in his lap so the camera could film what was written on it properly. 

Peter pulled a face and looked at the card unsurely. “I still don’t understand why I’m here. You’re the celebrity-”

“Eep!” Harley made a buzzer sound, causing Peter to flinch in surprise, before grinning. “I’m not having this discussion again.” The way he said it clearly communicated this was not the first time it had been brought up.

“But it’s true,” Peter argued, gesturing with one hand. “It’s not like-”

“EEEPP!”

“I don’t-”

“EEEEEPPP!!!”

Peter slapped Harley’s shoulder with a half annoyed, half-amused expression, the latter laughing. “The people wanna know if you like pineapple on pizza, Pete,” Harley said slowly, similar to how one would explain why candy before bed was not a good idea. “Indulge the fan people, they’re curious.”

Peter huffed and rolled his eyes but didn’t complain further. He knew people were interested in him but he still didn’t understand why. It wasn’t like he was doing anything extraordinary, he was not the heir to an important company and he was not doing anything in the entertainment industry. In his eyes, there was absolutely no justifiable reason for people to be interested in him or what he did. “Fine, it’s probably just two questions anyway.”

Harley pursed his lips and made knowing eyes at the camera, tilting his head forward as if to look over his imaginary glasses, clearly showing he did not believe one word of that. He obviously knew the internet people, they were curious about the utmost absurd things and Google knew all about it. He schooled his features again and focused his attention on the card. “Alright then, first question.” His nails scraped over the card to get the small piece of paper hiding the question lifted. The texture was odd but he got it. “Does Peter Parker… go to university?” He looked up at his boyfriend for an answer.

“I do, yeah,” Peter said after a beat of silence, realizing it was him who had to answer. This question was rather mild, he could answer this. “I’m studying biochemistry,” he added, smiling because he still got happy whenever he had time to acknowledge he was allowed to study one of his passions.

“Smart as f-... a dolphin,” Harley said after realizing he wasn’t allowed to swear, flicking the piece of paper off his fingers and looking towards the camera for emphasis.

Peter shook his head, his smile still remaining. “Sure.” He looked a bit more at ease now that the first question was answered and it had not been about someone request a foot picture from him.

Harley nodded and peeled off the next piece of paper. “Does Peter Parker… speak Spanish?” He shared a look with his boyfriend who looked equally as confused. 

“I… don’t?” he said slowly, looking at Harley questioningly as if he could answer why that was a suggested question. 

“I don’t know, man, maybe it seems like you’d know how to speak Spanish?” It was weak reasoning, even Harley knew this. He had honestly no idea where this question had come from but the internet was a magical place. 

Peter frowned before shaking his head. “I don’t, no. Unfortunately, I only speak English. I’m not good with languages.”

Harley suppressed a small snort and quickly cleared his throat when Peter sent him a half-amused, half exasperated look. Mostly amused though. This seemed to be about something both of them knew but the audience was not in on. Harley gathered himself and continued as if nothing had happened. “Does Peter Parker… work out? Yeah, do you, Peter?”

“Not if I don’t have to,” Peter said with a slightly disgusted expression. Working out had never been one of his passions. He wasn’t completely unathletic but he had never enjoyed running around or going to a gym to lift weights for two hours. “If it’s not dancing I’ll pass.” 

“Contrary to him I do actually like working out,” Harley said nonchalantly, already scratching at the next piece of paper with his nail. It was rather stubborn and didn’t want to come off. 

“You carry around engines and all that,” Peter objected. “I don’t need biceps to lift a vial of chemicals.”

“You could help me carry around my engines.”

Peter snorted and shook his head. “Nope.”

Harley rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “Lazy bum.” The next piece of paper was ripped off. “Does Peter Parker… need glasses?” Harley groaned while Peter made another face, mostly confused this time. He read the question once more to be sure he had understood correctly. Sadly he had.

“Yes,” he said like he could not understand why this was a genuine question, even gesturing towards it. “What is with everyone and my glasses?” He reached up and took them off. There were faint red marks on the sides of his nose from where they usually rested. It was incredibly foreign to see him without his glasses. His face looked naked almost. “Just lemme take them off and oh look at that, can’t see a thing. I’m a blind mole, congratulations.” He didn’t sound truly offended, just sarcastic.

Harley threw his head back and laughed. Peter waved his hand in his general direction as if to shut him up but Harley just leaned out of reach. “Why would I be wearing them otherwise?” Peter asked in genuine confusion and slipped them back on, pushing them up the bridge of his nose to get them to settle properly.

“People always talk about the glasses,” Harley sighed, straightening back up in his chair. “Tell him to leave the nerd look behind and show something new.”

“Yes, next in style; blind mole.” Peter made a silly pose in his chair like a bad model and grinned in victory when Harley laughed again. “Besides, there is nothing wrong with being a nerd or wearing glasses. I don’t like the… the… you know-” he gestured towards his eyes and made a circle motion with his finger. He looked at Harley who stared back, a confused look on his face.

“Contacts?” he offered after a beat. 

“Contacts!” Peter agreed, slapping his thigh, and Harley made a small ‘ah’ sound with a nod. “Yeah, don’t like them very much but I like my glasses. Which I need. To see. It’s not a fashion statement.” Peter scratched at a spot just under his ear, a similar habit to pushing up his glasses. 

To this day he did not truly understand why people were so obsessed with his glasses. Sure, most celebrities did not wear them constantly. Most switched to contacts or wore them occasionally to fit a certain look but Peter did not fall into that category. His glasses weren’t just an accessory or a statement, they were a necessity and not something people needed to comment on like his choice of clothes. 

“Yup, nothing wrong with glasses,” Harley agreed. “He kinda needs them to see so stop asking, only I see him with his glasses off regularly.” He winked at the camera like there was a hidden meaning behind his words. Some people’s minds might even slide into the gutter because of that wink.

“Not true but go off, I guess.”

Harley pouted before going for the next question. “Does Peter Parker work at Stark Industries?”

“I don’t actually,” Peter answered easily, more than happy to move on from the glasses debate. He hoped it was cleared up now and people wouldn’t continue to boggle him because of it. “People often assume that but I don’t. I’m there a lot and I share a lab with Harley but I don’t have an official contract since I’m not employed there. I do know what’s going on though and I might give some insight occasionally but I don’t get paid or anything. I already have a job so I wouldn’t have time to do another one.”

“There ya have it.” Harley flicked the sticky paper off his finger and looked at the camera in a serious manner. “Unpaid labor.”

“It’s not, don’t start rumors,” Peter chided with a smile and pushed his boyfriend’s shoulder who was already busy reading the next question.

“Last question; does Peter Parker have siblings?”

Peter shook his head. “No, I’m an only child. We both are.” He gestured between the two.

“Two lone souls,” Harley sniffed and wiped away a non-existent tear. “Truly tragic. We were both so bad our parents didn’t want another one.”

Peter laughed. “Speak for yourself. You’re a handful, I feel sorry for Tony and Pepper having to wrangle you in your teenage years.”

“Nah, they managed… most of the time,” Harley joked with a grin. Both knew it was an understatement. Harley had been a mess of a teen and he had done some shit he wasn’t exactly proud of but he had grown and learned and was more comfortable with who he was now. Growth, people.

All of the questions were revealed so Harley threw the card to the side with a twist of his wrist. It fluttered out of frame with dramatic spins. The video cut and now Peter was holding a card. ‘Is Harley Keener’ was written in the printed search bar. 

“Is Harley Keener… Harley Keener’s real name?” Peter snickered while Harley gave the camera an exhausted look. The number of times this question had been asked was staggering and now having it as the first suggested question obviously meant many people wondered about this.

“Yes,” he sighed, rolling his eyes up and moving his head from side to side like someone who has had to explain the same thing a dozen times already and was tired of it. “It is my real name. Got my mom’s last name because that’s what they agreed on and Harley is also my real name. Everybody is asking this like I’m actually an undercover agent or something.”

Peter nodded seriously. “He’s actually called James Smith,” he whispered from behind the card in his hands with a serious look as if it was a secret that needed to be kept between him and everyone who was watching before going for the next question. Harley shook his head at the absurdity of that name being applied to him.

“Is Harley Keener Tony Stark’s son?”

Harley smirked. “Yup, the one and only.”

“Is Harley Keener Pepper Potts’ son?”

“Nope, but she is my mom in everything but blood.”

“My friends asked the same thing when they found out,” Peter said, momentarily halting the questions. “They were quite relieved because the child of Tony and Pepper would just take over the world.”

Harley hummed. “Yeah, I just have a 50% chance.”

“43,” Peter said without missing a beat and Harley groaned. It seemed to be another insider between the two judging from Peter’s amused expression before he revealed the next question. “Is Harley Keener dating Peter Parker?”

Harley grinned widely, sitting up straight like an excited puppy. “Yes! He is! And he is very happy about that. Almost four years now, baby.” He clicked his tongue and waggled his eyebrows while holding up four fingers. 

Peter rolled his eyes but couldn’t help smiling. ‘He’s great’ he mouthed at the camera without his boyfriend noticing. “Is Harley Keener the heir of Stark Industries?”

“That I am,” Harley said with a nod. “And I guess that too is what makes me famous. Weird world we’re living in.”

Peter hummed and put the card away after getting the questions answered rather quickly. A new one was handed to them by a staff member. Harley grabbed it and turned it around towards the camera. “Alright.” He read the first question while peeling off the paper. “Is Peter Parker dating Harley Keener? Are you?” Harley asked genuinely with a shit-eating grin. 

Peter hummed seriously like he had to consider the question for a moment. “No, I’m actually his emotional support person.”

“Honestly, that’s not too far off,” Harley said with a crooked grin. “I do tend to get stressed out and cuddling helps. Peter is great for cuddling, very comfortable and calming. And he obviously has more brain cells than I do.” He stroked Peter’s arm like he was petting a dog and turned to the camera with a serious nod.

“Sure, but I get just as anxious and stressed so if anything we’d be each other’s emotionally support people,” Peter said offhandedly, not even commenting on the fact his boyfriend had just proclaimed his superior cuddle skills and apparently higher amount of brain cells to the world. 

Harley thought about that statement for a moment, eyes trailing off and brows furrowing just slightly. “Isn’t that basically what boyfriends are?”

Peter blinked a few times, now also thinking about it. It was silent for almost five seconds with the two of them staring off into space. Surely the internet would make a meme out of it and label it something along the lines of ‘when u contemplating life’ or ‘when the weed hits’. 

“Huh, I guess…” Peter said slowly. “But to answer this question; yeah, I’m dating him.” He then frowned in a rather befuddled manner. “Why are people still asking this? It’s not like we hide it.” He turned to Harley for an answer but the other just shrugged. “They can’t believe two dashingly handsome men are off the market.” He smirked at the camera with his signature paparazzi look while Peter rolled his eyes with a sigh. 

Harley turned his attention back towards the card. “Where does Peter Parker… live?” He frowned and shook his head. “Wow, creepy. In a house, thank you.” Harley plowed on and Peter just smiled softly. “Where does Peter Parker… work… Nope, not telling. Somewhere on earth or maybe space, who knows? He likes stars so maybe he’s running a gas station there.” Harley shook his head and muttered something under his breath as he peeled off the next paper. “When is Peter Parker’s birthday? August 10th.”

Peter laughed lightly at Harley not even pausing before he answered. “Aren’t I supposed to answer these? Or are you just showing off?”

Harley grinned at him sweetly. “Busted, sorry. Okay, next one you can answer. 

“Why thank you.”

“Is Peter Parker rich?”

Peter burst out laughing and needed a rather long moment to regain his composure. He couldn’t believe people googled a question like this. “Nope, not at all. Like, it’s not like I’m barely scraping by but I’m very, very far from rich. Not like some people.” He gestured towards Harley who didn’t even try to deny the accusation and just smiled in a silly manner. “But I’m doing fine with my job and I still live at home so there’s that.”

“So for all the noisy people thinking he lives with me; he doesn’t,” Harley clarified. “I just keep him hostage for several days at a time and then release him back into society.”

“How very generous of you.”

“I know. Next one; Is Peter Parker… Canadian??”

“Uh…” Peter blinked in confusion. That had come out of the blue. 

“What, because he so nice? Stereotypes.” Harley scoffed and shook his head in an overly exaggerated disappointed manner.

Peter raised one eyebrow over the rim of his glasses and then turned towards the camera. “Harley asked me if I was British because I prefer tea over coffee.”

“That…” Harley raised a finger to protest but then trailed off, unable to defend himself. “Did happen but I’ll deny it forever. I’m still convinced you’re some British agent or something. There have to be British genes in there somewhere.” He poked Peter’s shoulder seriously. “One day I’ll look at your DNA and I’ll find out you’re actually British.”

Peter smiled in an amused manner. “Sure. Long live the queen, darling,” he said in a scarily good British accent and Harley first looked at him and then at the camera with a horrified expression before his gaze slowly trailed off. He mouthed ‘what the fuck?’ before shaking his head to gather his bearings.

“Anyway, next one. Does Peter Parker… have a disability?” Harley turned to Peter with genuine curiosity, previous sarcasm and humor gone. Peter stared at the card for a long moment before looking at Harley, the camera, Harley, the card and then finally the camera again. He smiled softly and looked back at Harley. “Next question?”

Harley hummed, continuing without hitch. “Why is Peter Parker so nice?” Harley snickered, back to his goofy self. Some viewers might get whiplash from the effortless transitions of character. “Because he’s Canadian, obviously, duh.” He said it as if it was obvious. “No, he’s not but he’s amazing, that’s why. Right?” He turned to Peter as if he could answer that question logically. 

Peter floundered, both flattered and a little confused. “Uh… I’d lie when I say that this was the first time someone brought this up. Um… I guess I was just raised… that way? I don’t know, I just like viewing things as positively as I can and giving people the benefit of the doubt. I was told I can be very naive so… there is that I guess?”

“New York has not corrupted him yet,” Harley said seriously and put a hand over his heart. Peter truly was a very positive and sweet person. He saw things in a positive light as much as he could and was incredibly humble.

“I do get annoyed at people though,” Peter interjected. “It’s not like I’m a flawless saint. I don’t think anyone could be.” Holding people to that standard was ridiculous but sadly some seemed to think public figures were only one-dimensional beings incapable of having complex emotions and a multitude of facets.

“No,” Harley agreed. “But when you get annoyed you don’t take it out on people and for you to get annoyed someone has to be pushing your buttons repeatedly or hit you somewhere where it really, really hurts.”

Peter pursed his lips. “Guess that’s right.”

“I do not recommend doing it, you’ll feel like trash,” Harley said. “I accidentally pushed too much a few times and I really want to avoid it in the future.” He thought back to the time where they had argued about Peter accepting a scholarship from Stark Industries and winced. It hadn’t been the only time but it had been one of the most memorable just because of the way Peter had reacted. Going from nonchalant to fed up to angry to defeated and then just crying. Harley’s heart hurt just thinking about it but he was glad they had talked about it immediately afterward.

“Hey, no one’s perfect,” Peter said, nudging Harley with his foot and smiling sweetly. “People annoy each other sometimes. It’s just important to talk about it and be honest. And it’s not like I’ve never gotten you annoyed either. We argue sometimes too.”

“Yeah,” Harley sighed, scratching at his chin thoughtfully. “People seem to think we’re some sort of superior super couple who never have rough patches.”

“We do,” Peter insisted easily. “We just talk about it.” He had no problem admitting they were not as perfect as people thought they were. They only saw what they wanted them to see after all. A public appearance and image are usually crafted with a lot of thought. Besides, thinking people were perfect and you needed to be that way too was unhealthy and put those people on a pedestal they surely did not want to be on. No one could be a model citizen all the time 

“So kids, communicate,” Harley said seriously and pointed at the camera. “Or adults, whoever.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Talk to your friends and lovers and parents. This is coming from someone who has a dad who is as emotionally capable as a teaspoon and had no idea what to do with a kid for a long ass time. Talk about things, no one can read minds.”

“I think his range went up to a tablespoon actually,” Peter mused thoughtfully.

“Maybe even a ladle.”

“We’re slandering Tony here,” Peter said with a snicker. “We’re kidding, he’s great, he just doesn’t understand human emotions as well as he understands all his tech. He sometimes runs on a different frequency but he’s great.”

“He has gotten a lot better too,” Harley agreed. “And he started trying seriously at some point so if he can do it you can do it too. Anyway, moving on. Where were we? Ah, yeah, we’re done with this one.” He threw the card to the side just like last time.

The video cut and showed Peter accepting a new card with questions for Harley. He turned it around and started reading the first question. “What is Harley Keener…” Peter stared at the partly-revealed question and then smirked. “Honestly, this could just end right there,” he teased. “ _What is_ Harley Keener?”

“Good questions uh,” Harley shifted, crossing his legs, and acted like he was thinking about it seriously while Peter snickered. “Well, he’s water and carbon and- hmm bones? There are many bones, lots of bones and also he’s stupid and a garbage can on fire and occasionally he might be hungry.”

“Uhu okay, good,” Peter snorted and only then revealed the actual question. “Okay, what is Harley Keener age. What is Harley Keener’s age?”

“156,” Harley said this completely serious.

“And a half,” Peter added with the same amount of sincerity. “What is Harley Keener’s name?”

Harley gave the camera a deadpan stare. “James Smith.”

Peter nodded approvingly though you could see he was trying hard not to laugh as he revealed the next question. “What color are Harley Keener’s eyes? Blue.” He smiled as if just thinking about it made him happy. The camera took a quick close-up of Harley’s eyes before he started talking again. They were indeed blue.

“Yup, didn’t get my dad’s eyes or hair.” Which Harley was kind of glad about because it meant blending in and disappearing had been a lot easier.

“Mhm.” Peter took a look at his boyfriend’s hair, resisting the urge to run his fingers through it. “Yeah, not really. It’s a few shades lighter I’d say. I saw some baby pictures and it was almost blonde at one point. Blond and with these cute waves.” He mimicked a wave motion with his hand. 

Harley grimaced at the mention of baby pictures like every other person would as well. Obviously he had to change the subject quickly. “Yeah, and there is a conspiracy that Peter is actually Tony Stark’s son because he looks more like him.”

Peter recoiled and blinked several times. He had not heard that one before but it was absurd. “What?” he asked utterly confused and Harley shrugged. 

“Yeah, I don’t know. Some people say you’re his son because you have his hair and eyes.” He gestured towards his boyfriend like it was self-explanatory.

“That’s weird,” Peter said with a deep frown. He was no stranger to people jumping to conclusions but why on earth would they think this? What reason would there be to… to switch Harley and him around and have them pretending to… he didn’t even know how he could explain this one, to be honest. So Peter was actually Tony’s son but he pretended not to be and had his boyfriend or someone random pose as Tony’s son instead? What good would it do when Peter was still in the limelight and literally right next to him? It wasn’t like this would help him to remain a secret. “I’m not related to Tony in any way.”

“He does really like him though. Impossible not to.” Harley grinned, changing the subject again like the expert he was. More often than not Peter was incredibly glad for Harley’s ability to take control of a conversation, a genuine one or an interview, and change the direction. He could do it in a subtle manner or an obvious and demanding one. Similar to Tony most people had a certain amount of respect for him and didn’t dare to go against him directly.

When Peter himself was stuck in a situation he didn’t know how to get out of because he wasn’t as bold or experienced Harley came swooping in and saved him without anyone really noticing. People who were watching intently might later connect the dots but Harley’s presence was enough to make the people of the press a bit more cautious. 

Who would want to go up against Tony Stark’s son after all?

Peter was glad for the subject change but it didn’t mean he wouldn’t get flustered if Harley started spewing about how well Tony and he got along so he had to stop it from happening. Especially since they were in front of a camera. “What is Harley Keener tattoo?” he asked loudly to make sure Harley wouldn’t loop back to his previous statement. 

Harley, being the gentleman he was, accepted this and looked at the new question thoughtfully. “Did someone think they saw me with a tattoo?” He glanced up at Peter who shrugged. “I don’t have any tattoos which might surprise some people. Also don’t really plan on getting one. I’m too indecisive,” Harley explained. He had thought about it before but never seriously. He couldn’t decide on a design or a place on his body where he would like to have a tattoo for the rest of his life. There were a lot of cool inspirations out there but he could say almost certainly he’d grow tired of a picture on his skin at some point so he didn’t want to risk it. 

“Same,” Peter agreed and ripped off the next piece of paper. “What is Harley Keener…Conpiracy?” He looked at the word thoughtfully.

Harley leaned forward so he could see the question himself. “Conspiracy.”

“Ah.”

“What is Harley Keener conspiracy? I don’t know?” Harley hummed. “People think I’m not actually Tony Stark’s son? Some think I’m a robot.”

Peter reached out and pinched his arm. Harley jumped in his chair and yelped, sending his boyfriend an offended look as he clutched onto his arm. Not that he was actually hurt, he just liked being overly dramatic and whiny. Especially around Peter when he was in the mood. Sometimes he got extra cuddles and kisses out of his boyfriend that way. Totally worth it. 

“Nope, no robot,” Peter concluded with a nod towards the camera. “Would have noticed that.”

“Not if you’re a robot as well.” Harley sent the camera a serious look as if to suggest this was a genuine possibility. Peter thought about it for a second and Harley laughed. “That is the Harley Keener conspiracy; Peter and he are both robots.” He nodded and grabbed a new card since the one about him was done. 

“Why are there so many questions about me?” Peter asked genuinely as he let his card fall to the floor. He had only expected a few but this was now the third card already with questions for him. 

“The people are curious,” Harley said lightly. He could understand the sentiment and he was more used to people poking around in his business. He had warned Peter but of course, you could only truly understand all the consequences when you were already in the middle of it. This space was safe though, no noisy reporters or interviewers shoving microphones at them and just waiting for the newest scandal. There were just innocent cards asking them questions here and if they didn’t like them they could give a made-up or silly answer in response. “Who is Peter Parker?”

“Oh, that’s a deep one.” Peter huffed thoughtfully. Who was he? “Uh… a human? A student, a New Yorker… Harley Keener’s boyfriend?” he looked at Harley for confirmation and the latter made a face. “Well, yeah but that’s not who you are. That doesn’t define you.”

Peter smiled. “Okay, fine. A male human being from New York who likes science, space and baking. Next one.”

“Who does Peter Parker look like?” Harley snorted. “Peter Parker, easy. Who are Peter Parker’s parents?” He turned towards Peter, once again wearing a more serious expression. The two of them looked at one another, just communicating with their eyes. Peter raised one brow subtly as if he was asking a question. Harley inclined his head and shrugged faintly like he was saying ‘if you want to’.

Peter hummed and thought about it for a second longer. This was not something he minded sharing. He might have gotten bullied for it and had suffered in a few aspects because of it but it was not something he thought he had to hide. Besides, this as well did not define him. “Two gravestones in New York,” he then said towards the camera with a dark grin. It was a foreign expression to see on his face for the viewers.

Harley choked and hunched over behind the card for a moment to cough. “Damn,” he said with a laugh as he straightened up again. “Huh, wow, going straight for the dark humor. I see.”

Peter scoffed and rolled his eyes with a smile. “Oh, come on. As if you haven’t heard those jokes before.” He pushed at his boyfriend’s shoulder. This was not the first time he said something like this. He sometimes blurted out orphan jokes out of the blue and stunned everyone who didn’t know him into an awkward silence. He’s had his time to process and it was so far in the past he barely remembered his parents. Not to mention he hadn’t missed out on having incredible guardians but that was not something he was willing to share at the moment.

“I have but the people haven’t.” Harley gestured towards the camera like there were actual people inside watching in real-time. “You just gave them culture shock, Pete. They thought you were raised in a garden full of flowers and then you come out with that!”

“More like in a kitchen and baking constantly but whatever.”

“Do you want to elaborate on that for the people’s sake or will you let them think you were raised as a kitchen boy?”

Peter hummed, concluding it would be better to elaborate. People loved taking things out of context and coming up with the weirdest explanations if none was given. “I was not, there was just a lot of baking where I grew up and I loved to play with flour and eggs.”

Harley nodded. “Okay, that’s acceptable. His stuff is amazing, though.” He pointed at Peter as if it wasn’t clear who he was talking about. “He bakes for me a lot and I could eat all of it in one sitting,” Harley said seriously, focusing his attention onto the camera. “He makes these doughnuts and brownies and sometimes I ask him if he can try something I saw and he just comes up with these things and-” he sighed dreamily- “he made Pride cookies last year.”

“I tried it once-” Peter held up one finger- “at three am - and made unicorn cookies and lesbian flag cookies for a friend. She was obsessed with them and now I just make them a lot.” He shrugged with a smile.

Harley made an ok sign with his fingers like he was doing a bad impersonation of an Italian chef. “Delicious. Tell us if you want the Peter Parker Pride Cookie recipe and we’ll make a video.” He ignored Peter’s squawk and read the next question. “Who Peter Parker girlfriend? He gay, honey - and taken.”

Peter laughed. “Yup, never had a girlfriend. Never had any interest. Always just the boys.”

“But a lot of girls were crushing on him. Or are, I guess,” Harley said offhandedly as he dropped the card. Peter just rolled his eyes with a smile. “I mean, if I were a girl I’d be crushing on him too.”

“Stoooop,” Peter huffed and kicked his boyfriend’s leg, unable to hide his smile. “Flattery won’t get you anywhere.”

“Always worth a try,” Harley sang as Peter received a new card with questions. “Okay, hit me with ‘em.”

Peter hit Harley with the card, albeit not too hard, and then continued like nothing had happened while Harley gasped in shock. 

“How high is Harley Keener…” Peter looked at the camera innocently. “Very.” Harley gasped again, almost choking on a laugh, but his boyfriend continued nonchalantly. “How high is Harley Keener IG- no, IQ.” Again Peter had that innocent look. “Very low, like below sea level low.”

Harley wheezed loudly in an offended manner. “I’m burnin’ over here! Stop it with the roasting!”

Peter snickered. “Much high, very low,” he said in fake seriousness and nodded.

“Oh sweet mother of python,” Harley huffed and shook his head, ignoring Peter’s snickers from next to him. “I honestly never tested my IQ and I think those tests are kinda like… not the best way to test intelligence.” He sounded serious when he said this and Peter sobered up as well, nodding in agreement. “They don’t take certain things into account and set other things as a baseline so with that alone you already have preempted people from having the same like…” he waved his hand, not finding a suitable word. 

“Chances?” Peter suggested. 

Harley snapped his fingers and pointed at him. “Chances, yeah. So I never took a test and I guess intelligence is pretty subjective but I have a master’s in engineering if that’s what your benchmark is.”

Peter nodded with a hum and uncovered the following question. “How tall is Harley Keener?”

“5’11-” Harley pointed at himself and then at Peter- “he’s 5’5.”

Peter whacked him with the card several times while Harley tried to defend himself, grinning like a gremlin. “I’m not! I’m 5’9!”

“8”

“9!”

“Maybe with heels!”

Peter grumbled under his breath and ceased his attacks. “5’8.7.” 

Harley snorted. “Sure, if that makes you feel better.” The card hit his head one more time but he kept on smiling.

“How was Harley Keener born?” Peter stared at the question like he couldn’t believe he had read that correctly and then shook his head, adjusting quickly. “He wasn’t, he’s a robot.” He continued without giving the other a chance to answer himself and Harley snickered. “How to find Harley Keener?” Peter stared again. “I suggest you set up a spot with a computer, some coffee, some doughnuts, a car and uh… I don’t know. Maybe a pizza?” He looked at Harley for confirmation. The latter nodded thoughtfully. 

“That might actually work, yeah. I also required my emotional support person though.”

“Well, there you have it.” Peter dropped the card and received a new one, trying hard not to smile like an idiot. “Okay, this is the last one.” He peeled the first piece of paper off. “Harley Keener glasses.” He turned towards Harley expectantly. 

“Like, do I like them?”

“I don’t know. Do you wear them?

“No but.. well, I like Peter’s glasses.” Harley smirked at the camera and wagged his eyebrows. “But I don’t wear any, no. Perfect vision for me so whoever tells people they get bad vision from looking at screens-” he gestured towards himself- “here is the living proof that that’s not true.”

“I heard people only say that because those who already have bad vision need to sit closer to the TV so people tend to think it’s from the TV,” Peter said thoughtfully.

“Well, that’s stupid.”

“Kinda… anyway. Where was Harley Keener born?”

“Miami, baby.”

“Can Harley Keener… be Iron Man?”

Harley frowned. “Uh… no, technically Iron Man is my dad so I can’t suddenly become my own dad. Iron Man isn’t the armor, it’s the person inside that’s Iron Man.” This is something a lot of people mixed up. Sure, the metal armor was more likely to be called Iron Man than a person but still.

‘I am Iron Man,’ Peter mouthed the famous words absentmindedly.

“So to _become_ Iron Man I would have to become the person who _is_ Iron Man which is my dad so no, I can’t be Iron Man and I’m not,” Harley concluded. It wasn’t the first time he had been asked this and he always gave the same answer. Iron Man was trademarked by his dad and belonged to him just like the arc reactor belonged to him.

“That’d be some very weird hocus pocus, yeah,” Peter agreed with a disturbed look.

Harley nodded, looking at him. “Right?” He turned back towards the camera. “So no, I can’t be Iron Man. _But_ … can I create a knock-off Iron Man armor?” Harley looked at the camera knowingly but remained silent for a long moment. Long enough Peter got impatient and answered for him. 

“No, he’s too stupid for that. Obviously.”

“That’s not true!” Harley protested immediately and Peter smiled at him teasingly. “I can build an Iron Man armor! No problem. I have before, actually. It’s not named Iron Man though and it’s not calibrated to my dad. Make of that what you will.” He sent the camera another meaningful stare. Peter did as well, clearly showing he knew exactly what this was about. Harley moved things along. “Alright, next one.”

Peter huffed and shook his head but complied. If the other wanted to keep some mysterious secrets then he was all for it. There were some things the world didn’t need to know for sure and Harley had always had an incline to the dramatics. He was sure Harley would say more about this matter at some point in the future. “Harley Keener and Peter Parker meet.”

“How we met?” Harley asked to clarify and Peter hummed. 

“I guess so.”

“Oh, okay.” He smiled fondly. “Well, I found the place he works at by chance and I thought he was cute and I came back several times and we got along really well and then Pete spent his break with me a few times and at some point two of his friends invited me to go see a movie with them and they gave me a really, really scary shovel talk and told me to have the balls to ask him out so I did.” He grinned proudly. “That’s the short version. There was a lot of gay panic involved on my side. When I’m nervous I can’t talk properly and attractive boys like Pete make me very nervous.”

Peter snorted. 

“But I managed to woo him somehow and he stuck around which is nice.”

Peter hummed. “You were a bit of a mess when you asked me out. I kinda figured where you were going with it but I wasn’t sure.”

“It was awful,” Harley agreed with a huff. He was having war flashbacks and was very glad they had moved past his awkward and quite frankly embarrassing attempt to be smooth. “Only other time I was that nervous was I think when I tried to ask you to be my boyfriend.”

“Oh yeah, we were both a mess that day. We did it sort of simultaneously and none of us knew what to do.” Peter laughed at the memory that came up in his head.

“Total mess. Oh, and when I told you about my dad… and when I met your friends… and when I asked you to come to that first gala with me… Geez, I’m more nervous than I realized.” Harley looked distraught at this realization.

Peter laughed heartily and reached over to stroke the hair at Harley’s nape in a mindless calming motion. It looked like it was something he did regularly because Harley didn’t appear surprised in the least. “Just when it’s unfamiliar situations,” Peter reassured. “And you’re cute when you’re nervous. You ramble a lot.”

Harley sighed. “Yeah, I do.”

“But I ramble generally anyway so I don’t mind.” Peter turned back towards the card in his hands and revealed the last question. “Is Harley Keener real?” Peter laughed and threw his head back while Harley frowned at the card. 

“I’d say I am. At least I hope so! I’m pretty sure I’m real. Am I real? Do you think I’m real?” Harley asked in an almost distraught manner, eyes wide and tone panicked.

Peter laughed and nodded. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure you’re real.”

Harley released a relieved breath and put a hand over his heart like he was trying to calm down from a traumatic experience. “Phew, that’s good to know.”

Peter grinned and let go of the card to let it flutter to the floor. He couldn’t believe they were already done with this very unique interview. It had been a lot more fun than he had expected and he had been more comfortable answering most of these questions than what he would have thought. Having Harley with him helped obviously and not needing to gauge what an interviewer wanted to hear or might twist was also nice.

“Well, there you have it!” Harley clapped his hands and straightened up, his brilliant smile was back in place. “All you ever wanted to know about Peter and me. I hope we were able to clear some things up and confuse you a little more.”

Oh, they surely had confused some people but where would be the fun in this if they wouldn’t? The world didn’t need to know everything about them and some questions did not require a genuine answer. 

“I have learned I might be dating a robot named James Smith who’s really, really old,” Peter said.

Harley snorted. “See, you never stop learning. I now know you live in a house and work at a gas station on a star.”

“Fascinating.”

“Right? So that’s it from us, keep your head on not straight but straight enough, folks.”

“You stole that from our friend,” Peter said offhandedly. 

Harley shrugged. “Yup but she can’t sue me for copyright because I’m rich.” He smirked and leaned forward, waving at the camera while Peter laughed, barely managing a small wave. “Bye-bye.”

The screen faded to black and the video was over.

**Wakanda Nonsense Is This**   
“she can’t sue me because I’m rich” lol you gotta love Harley

 **Abby C.**   
did… did Peter kind of confirm that he has a disability??

 **Olive Oil**   
Harley built his own Iron Man armor??? Are we going to have two of them flying around??

 **Grand Master**   
no comment is pretty much a confirmation, right?

 **ItsKeenerBitch**   
wait, is Harley Keener his real name or not? I’m confused

 **moooood**   
don’t tell anyone but I’m lowkey just here thirsting ver Harley. Look at those arms, dear god. When he laughs I think there is a waterfall between my legs. I need Jesus.

 **the holy spirit**   
they are both so good looking. how can this happen? how can two such perfect people meet and then start dating and just be perfect together?   
Tell me your secrets!!!   
(I know they said they are not perfect but COME ON)

 **That Bitch**   
question: are you rich?   
Peter: *crying in student debt* bitch please

 **Sam H.**   
the story of them meeting sounds so cute, almost like a movie   
and I can totally imagine Peter’s friends giving Harley the shovel talk. That boi needs some protecting especially because he said people tend to say he’s naive for thinking positively and all that

 **Carter B**   
I gather Peter keeps his own job and doesn’t just rely on Harley’s money? I think that’s actually really healthy for a relationship with wealth differences such as theirs

 **xxxMoonlight**   
Harley lowkey calling out the creepers who want to know where Peter works and lives   
love that shit

 **WatsonsWife**   
that looks on their faces when they were asked if Peter has a disability. they know something 

**Suga aka AgustD**   
everyone: Peter is such a sweetheart uwu such an innocent summer child UwU   
Peter: yo my parents are dead lol   
my jaw literally dropped when he said that like wtf how did I not know this? Has he never talked about this before?   
I just looked it up and I didn’t find anything so I guess this really is the first time he said anything about them. From his reaction I don’t think it was recent though...

 **noshitSherlock**   
I wish Peter would have answered the disability question

 **Rose**   
I can totally imagine Harley smoking weed and getting high. You can’t tell me he’s a rich kid and never did drugs, that is literally impossible. Peter just throwing it out there sneakily speaks volumes. Not like I have anything against it, it’s just really funny.

 **RJ**   
guys, if Peter is disabled but doesn’t want to talk about it then that’s his decision. He doesn’t owe any of you an explanation and assuming he is disabled is really just jumping to conclusions

 **Abigaile Lee**   
I am sorry to admit but I have googled the ‘is peter parker disabled’ thing as well but nothing official came up

 **Spider-Man**   
Harley having an existential crisis when being asked if he’s real. Mood.

 **stream Moonlight**   
I don’t think peter is disabled. he looks and acts completely normal

 **Sophia Gomez**   
Harley being the flirty shit that he is and Peter just going with it. I love their relationship so much, it feels so comfortable and completely normal. You wouldn’t guess one is the son of a billionaire and one is just your typical guy from next door. Love it

 **KageyamaTobioFor President**   
question: is Harley Keener real?   
Harley: shit am I???

 **beepbeep**   
Harley wasn’t born, he’s a robot lol

 **canceled**   
“Is Harley Keener real?”   
No, he obviously isn’t, someone like him can’t be real

 **Maurice Miller**   
Peter not understanding why peopel are curious about him. Why can’t he understand??? He’s literally such a good person and so sweet and nice and I want to put him in my pocket and just carry him around all the time fjweifnewngwuhd

 **Queen Elsa**   
no one:   
absolutely no one:   
Harley: my emotional support person

 **Meme Professional**   
I honestly thought Harley wasn’t Harley’s real name… like, I kinda just assumed that was a stage name or something. Especially his last name but I guess not

 **Zhang F.**   
the child of Pepper Potts and Tony Stark will take over the world, that’s true lmao

 **GeraldIsMyMan**   
I love Peter’s glasses, the look really cool and stylish and they suit him a lot. Why do people not want him to wear them?

 **The Queen**   
lol that British accent was really good actually

 **AnakinWalker**   
Harley just out here flirting left and right. He’s so attractive

 **fangirl2020**   
I’m the girl who has a crush on Peter, I admit it. If I ever saw him in real life I’d probably drool

 **Joe Eye Cotton**   
Why the fuck is no one talking about Peter’s parents??? They are dead??!?!??! Holy shit! The way he just said that

Peter was looking over Harley’s shoulder at the screen that displayed the two of them. The camera was currently in selfie mode and filming them for the live stream on Instagram. Harley had started a little while ago and had been chatting with the viewers, sort of as a Q&A, when Peter had popped up behind him and everyone had wanted to ask him questions as well. Since they rarely got to interact with Peter directly they wanted to use their chance. 

“Hoodies or sweaters?” Harley asked.

The simplicity of the question was almost absurd but Peter just huffed somewhat amused. “I dunno. Depends, sometimes this, sometimes that. Harley has a bunch of hoodies so I steal some of those occasionally and he steals my sweaters. 50/50 I’d say.”

Harley leaned back to see what Peter was currently wearing but it did look like one of his own sweaters so he just hummed. “Agreed. Okay, next one.” He scrolled through the comments, trying not to squint too hard but they were flying by so quickly it was hard to catch one. “Will you release your university project to the public once you graduate?”

Peter considered for a moment. “Well, yes and no? It depends. I’m working on it so I can implement it once I graduate but I’d need people backing it up and actually using it for it to be able to be presented to the public. There are a lot of moving parts and things to figure out so I can’t really say anything certain for now.”

“Yeah, those things are tricky but if anything happens I’m sure Peter will announce whatever he can,” Harley said cheerfully and Peter nodded behind him. 

“Oh, this one; why do you never post on Twitter?” Harley read the question from his phone and turned towards Peter who considered for a moment. 

“It’s not like I never post,” he objected and Harley inclined his head in somewhat of an agreement. “It’s just…” Peter hesitated a moment, searching for the right words. “I just have so many followers for some reason and that makes me nervous.”

It took Harley a moment to understand but when he did realization flashed across his face. “Ah, oh… okay, because you make ty…” he trailed off, voice dying down. Peter sent him a pointed look. “Ah,” Harley just said and nodded. “Okay, yeah. Legit. That’s why I sneak pics of Pete sometimes,” he said with a grin as he turned back towards the camera, moving on without hesitation.

“I’d rather you not almost spill it,” Peter said once the live stream was over. His back was turned to Harley.

“I didn’t, I just… I didn’t th-” Peter turned to his boyfriend with a deadpan look and Harley stopped talked. “Right, I’m sorry. Won’t happen again.”

Peter just sighed and rubbed a hand across his face. Harley watched quietly, debating whether to say something or not. He had a hunch how the conversation would go and he was pretty sure it might just escalate and result in both of them feeling frustrated. He wasn’t sure if it was worth it. He didn’t want to argue and it was not his decision. He’d also never want to pressure Peter into doing something but… he couldn’t help but ponder over this.

“I can hear your brain working,” Peter muttered from where he was working on something on his desk. “Spit it out.”

Harley pressed his lips together, considering just saying ‘nothing’ for all of three seconds but he knew Peter knew it wasn't nothing. Acting like it was wouldn’t make tensions any lighter. It would just worsen the situation. Talking was important even when it might result in some arguments. “It’s just…” He tried to sort out his words before he blurted them out. Harley tended to say the wrong things when he was nervous or emotional and those wrong words would lead to miscommunications and… he just wanted to prevent that from happening. Thankfully Peter waited for him to sort himself out. “I don’t really know why you want to keep it a secret,” he said softly. 

Peter didn’t move and didn’t say anything for a long moment. Harley thought it would be best to fill the silence with some more rambling. “I mean, that’s obviously your decision, not mine, but I don’t really understand why you want to hide it. It’s… it’s not something bad.”

Again Peter remained silent, only his pencil clicking against the table quietly. It took a while for him to speak up while Harley waited for whatever he wanted to say. “It’s nothing bad to you,” Peter then mumbled quietly. 

“I… don’t really know what that means,” Harley said carefully.

Peter sighed and turned his chair around to face his boyfriend. “I agree,” he said with a shrug, looking down at his feet. “Dyslexia isn’t inherently bad. I mean, it’s annoying and frustrating and sometimes it makes me go crazy but it’s not… bad. It’s… it’s what everyone else makes out of it that makes it bad.”

“How exactly?” Harley had a hunch what Peter wanted to say but he didn’t like assuming things, especially when it was about this. He had no experience with dyslexia or any other disability and the consequences it brought along. He had secondhand-experience through Peter, sure, but he was also aware Peter didn’t talk about the negative side effects of it very often. To Harley, there was nothing negatively different about Peter so sometimes he found himself subconsciously forgetting it was not as easy as people made it out to be. 

Just like he hadn’t considered Peter’s teachers might not acknowledge his difficulties with reading and writing. To him it was logical disabilities would be taken into account and schools especially would make sure to accommodate them but sadly this was not the case all the time. Legally they had to but there were always loopholes and many families did not have the resources to go against these big institutions. 

Often supervisors, teachers, trainers and other professionals were not even educated in these fields. They didn’t know about the laws or implications of a disability. Sure, not everyone could know about every medical condition on the planet, but you’d think they’d have a basic understanding of disabilities commonly affecting students. Sadly most did not. 

If it weren’t for one of Peter’s middle school teachers telling May and Ben to look into learning disabilities they might have never found out Peter was actually dyslexic and not just “stupid” or “lazy”. Not that either May or Ben had believed any of that to be true because they knew Peter was smart and learned quickly but they hadn’t had the words or understanding to describe it. This understanding had only come with taking tests and getting an unofficial diagnosis because an official one required more testing and money than what had been able to afford. 

And Peter had been one of the luckier ones. Some kids never even knew they were dyslexic.

“Starting from how people think it has to do with intelligence?” Peter asked. “It’s what everyone assumes which is why I always say it’s not but even then most don’t believe it. To this day May’s family thinks I’m stupid. They dialed it back but when the found out I’m going to university but…” he trailed off, his jaw tensing. “They had a lot to say about that and it got even worse when they found out who exactly I’m dating.”

From what Harley had heard he concluded May’s family was not the most welcoming. It boggled his mind because May was one of the best people ever and he loved her. He couldn’t fathom how the people related to her could be rude but they were which is why neither May nor Peter had much contact with them. 

“What? Why? Did they think I bribed you in or what?” Peter looked at him and Harley’s heart sunk. With that look alone he could answer his own question. “That’s exactly what they think, right?” 

Peter nodded. “And so will most other people.”

“That’s-”

“True,” Peter cut in, looking at Harley sternly. “It’s what they will think and it’s not completely wrong. I’m on a scholarship from SI that I never officially applied for. I got it after I started dating you. I got in on a recommendation from Tony Stark because my grades were shit. What does that look like to you?”

“But you didn’t,” Harley insisted. “You applied with your own project and they accepted you based on that-”

“Which you can’t prove.”

“Peter, you don’t really still think you didn’t-”

“I don’t,” Peter said, voice tired. “I know I’m not as stupid as some people want to make me out to be but that doesn’t mean I like constantly having to prove myself when they aren’t even willing to listen. I don’t want to do that, I know I’m smart.” He sighed in an exhausted manner, his shoulders slumping in defeat. “But everyone else will think I’m not. They’ll see the scholarship and once they know I’m dyslexic they’ll just connect the dots however they want and…” He didn’t want to say it so he shrugged instead. 

Harley didn’t know how to respond to this. He didn’t want to believe it but by now he had witnessed enough instances where this was exactly what had happened. Peter’s fears were not unwarranted. They made sense, as much as he didn’t want them to. He deflated as well, reconsidering his stance on Peter going public with his dyslexia.

It was silent in the lab for a while. Peter had picked up his notes again while Harley was still trying to sort out his thoughts. There was more going on than what he had considered initially. He shouldn’t have been so hasty to draw a picture. He was not the one with dyslexia so he would never truly get how it felt. He had only gotten to know Peter after his rough school days and after he had gotten comfortable and experienced with his disability. He had never seen him crying because of essays or books he had to read. He had never witnessed teachers scolding him and berating him because of the work he handed in. He had never had to sit in an exam with time running out and not being able to work on the assignments because they had to read a poem that he just did not understand. 

Harley had heard from Ned how Peter has had a few panic attacks during his school days. How the two of them would be huddled in an empty hallway with Ned trying to calm down a hysteric Peter because his English teacher had told him he was failing the class.

For now, Harley didn’t have a solution, he didn’t know how to fix the problem but he knew he didn’t want to just shove it under the rug and never speak about it again. If he so wished Peter deserved to be as open about his struggles as he wanted to be without feeling bad about himself. 

“Hey, Pete?”

“Hm?”

“Here, look.”

Harley held his tablet in front of Peter who pushed up his glasses from where they had slowly slid down his nose. The bright screen made him squint for a second, eyes needing to adjust but when they head he realized Harley was on Twitter. He had always been more into the social media thing than Peter so it wasn’t a surprise. Even after gaining so many followers and people stating their opinions about him and everything he did publicly he still didn’t stay off those platforms. Harley wasn’t one to get upset over what people wrote about him most of the time. He simply didn’t care.

The paged showed a tweet Harley had opened and Peter read it carefully. 

**Cloud @SeptemerSummer**   
confession time: I only came out to my friends, siblings and parents because of Peter and Harley

Peter blinked a few times in surprise but then he noticed the threat underneath and continued reading.

> **Cloud @SeptemerSummer**   
> what I mean by this is I probably wouldn’t have come out for a long ass time because I knew no one else who was like me and people around me never talked about being gay and then suddenly there are these two guys

> **Cloud @SeptemerSummer**   
> who are in a committed and happy relationship and they are being unapologetically public about it because there is absolutely nothing shameful about being gay and idk that just gave me the confidence to accept myself and love myself

> **Cloud @SeptemerSummer**   
> btw if it wasn’t obvious; I love those two and I love how they don’t hide. I’m not a kid anymore but I’m sure there are so many kids and teens and young adults like me who see these two and can identify with them and just finally have a role model and representation

“Oh…” Peter said softly. There were so many emotions in his voice and expression. Surprise, shock, he was flattered and touched but also shy about people saying these things about them. It felt good, he couldn’t deny it but he had never expected to be a reason for other people to feel comfortable about coming out. This wasn’t the first time someone had said this but it still threw him for a loop. 

“Yeah,” Harley said with a smile. He scrolled down a little to where the comments were underneath the thread. “There are a bunch of others who are saying similar stuff.”

> **owls are a lie change my mind @spoonkiwi**   
> agreed, it’s so nice to see a gay couple in mainstream media because it’s so so rare to see and they just act like every other couple because there is nothing alien about being gay. it makes me really happy

> **Jackie @Moorie**   
> for the longest time I thought being gay was shameful and you could just… idk like, be not gay? Like you had a choice or something and you were supposed to be straight and seeing people in the public eye doing the exact opposite really opened my eyes

> **I like Girls @toohot_justjam**   
> I was friends with this girl and what she’d say about homosexuality had always made me feel uncomfortable but I was always too afraid to speak up but I recently cut her out of my life and I feel so much better without her

> **YeeHaw @YeeYaw**   
> Harley and Peter are the couple the world didn’t know they needed but now that they’re here they have such a big impact on so many people. Probably without realizing it too. I love how they don’t alienate themselves but treat their relationship as something completely normal (as they should!)

> **blue pancakes are lit I tried @percyBlueBoi**   
> my mom always thought gay people didn’t actually exist, then she got to know about Harley and Peter and she was kind of weirded out at first but then she realized they were just like everybody else. A week ago I came out to her as pan and she told me she loves me <3

> **UwU @uwu_inMaPockets**   
> I knew I was gay for a while and I have come out to a few people. I recently told my cousin and he was silent for a while and then just ‘so like those two kids? Stark’s son and his boyfriend?’ I said yes and he just smiled and high fived me

> **Mochi @mochimunchies**   
> I was watching a video about Harley and Peter with one of my friends and he was really confused about their relationship and I said they were a couple. He got all shocked and then was like ‘wait that’s allowed?’ I swear I cried when I hugged him

“Huh…” Peter still looked a little shocked. “Like that one girl, the one who talked to me at the café. She said she came out because she saw us being open about it.”

“Mhm.” Harley pulled his tablet back. “Yeah, it’s not the first time I’ve seen a post like this either. It’s amazing how much comfort some people can find in us just existing.” 

Peter hummed, still processing what he had just read. Harley watched him carefully to which Peter caught on after a while. He stared back and crooked his head slowly, trying to figure it out on his own but was unable to do so. “You want something,” he concluded. It wasn’t a question because he knew Harley too well to be unsure about his intentions. 

Harley sighed softly and turned his head slightly. “No, it’s just…” he trailed off, unsure of how to phrase his thoughts properly. “I don’t want to start a discussion. It’s just… sometimes I just think that being… being gay and being disabled can be… similar?” He glanced at Peter to gauge his reaction but his expression hadn’t changed much so Harley continued. He hadn’t fucked up yet so he might as well go on.

“It’s not the same obviously but it’s not the default so you automatically have to tell people you’re different from ‘the norm’.” He made air quotations around it and rolled his eyes because he hated the implication of being normal or being not normal. Like there was something wrong with not fitting what people thought of you. “And obviously you don’t owe anyone you explaining yourself to them but… I just see these things sometimes-” Harley gestured towards the tablet- “and I think like ‘Wow, it really means a lot to people when they have someone to identify with or who is like them’ and… just…” 

Harley shrugged. “I just think that a lot of people would be… would be happy or encouraged to see someone talking about what they might be going through and you obviously know what you’re talking about because you went through it but… that’s never gonna be my decision and I know it’s easy to say it from the sidelines but… I’ve just been thinking about this a lot lately.”

This was probably the best way Harley could phrase it. He could say more, sure, but that wouldn’t explain his thoughts any better. He didn’t want to be that person who talked and talked about issues they had no personal experience with. Speaking on Peter’s behalf on what he should do or how he should present himself was never his intention but he didn’t want Peter to only hide because he feared what people would think of him. 

It was a valid concern, obviously, but it shouldn’t be the only thing holding you back when you wanted to address something that was just part of your person and did not need to be alienated from the rest of yourself. It wasn’t your only identifying factor, sure, but it was part of you hence why you should be allowed to be open about it without having to worry about how it would alter the perception others had of you. It wasn’t shameful, it didn’t need to be hidden but again; it wasn’t Harley’s decision and he would never try to argue he was right but he wanted Peter to know he didn’t have to feel like there was only the option of never talking about it. 

Peter took his time to think about Harley’s words. It was one of their good qualities in this relationship. They usually took the time to consider the other’s words, especially when they were disagreeing on something. They couldn’t always have the same opinion, they weren’t the same person after all, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t at least acknowledge and think about what the other had to say. This was how healthy communication worked and it was vital for any relationship. Even just friendships required the participants to be honest and open with one another. 

“So…” Peter pursed his lips. “You’re saying… I should talk about it because I could make other people with dyslexia feel like they are not alone?”

Harley scrunched his nose a bit and tilted his head from side to side. “Kind of but not like that. ‘Should’ is the wrong word. You don’t have to do anything. I just think like with us being gay and making people feel more… represented or whatever it could be the same for you and dyslexia.” Harley shrugged. “But I’d never push the role of spokesperson onto you. That’s not what I mean. For me dyslexia was never a big deal, it’s just part of you. You’re Peter and you’re a lot of really cool things and you also happen to be dyslexic. I’m not trying to get you to open a forum for dyslexics and set up a hotline or whatever.”

This got a small amused huff out of Peter. 

“Just… like you told me and all your friends. You’re Peter and you’re all this stuff and one small part of that just happens to be your dyslexia. You aren’t just _Dyslexia_. I don’t want you to feel like you have to be an educator or anything, I just… just want you to be able to talk about it if that’s something you want to do. You’re so open about it with me and everyone around us that sometimes I feel bad when it seems like you feel like you have to hide it. I don’t want you to feel that way but I get where you’re coming from so… just…”

Again Harley sighed heavily, shoulders slumping. “I have no idea what I’m supposed to tell you, I just want you to know what I think. If you don’t want to talk about it then that’s fine but I don’t want you to feel like you’re not supposed to or not allowed to talk about it for whatever reason.”

Honestly, his thoughts were a jumbled mess but Peter and he have had so many years to get used to one another. Peter knew how he meant things and he understood him even when Harley was stumbling his way through explanations.

Peter sighed almost wistfully. “Yeah… I get what you mean.”

Harley looked at him, knowing there was more.

“I get it,” Peter repeated. “Doesn’t mean it wants to register in my brain but yeah, I get it. It’s strange, really. I kinda want to just say it because… it shouldn’t be a big deal and I shouldn't like… feel like that and because I don’t really mind it but…” He nibbled on his lower lip. “I don’t know… People will make up all sorts of things and I don’t want everyone to just focus on that. Then again, if just us being in a relationship means so much to people maybe there are some kids out there who’d… like to see someone with dyslexia as well… I don’t know.” He shrugged listlessly. “It’s complicated.”

Harley hummed sadly. “Yeah, I know. Which is why I never want to speak for you but… if you want to you could prove people wrong. Just… if you feel like saying something then just… just own it.”

Peter laughed. “Owning it is something you do, Harls. I just try to keep up.”

“Oh boho, don’t be modest, idiot,” Harley teased and poked Peter’s side. “You’re doing a great job. Your image is better than mine. People love you. Honestly, I don’t know how that’s possible but there is a rule in the universe that states no one can not like you.”

Peter scoffed. “Please.” He rolled his eyes and shook his head. 

“No, I’m serious,” Harley said with a grin and shifted onto all fours. Peter eyed him suspiciously, the book in his lap completely forgotten. “It’s the Peter Parker Paragraph. Thou shalt not not like Peter Parker.”

“Oh my god,” Peter huffed, looking at the ceiling and trying not to laugh.

“Thou shalt not not like Peter Parker!” Harley proclaimed in a deep announcer voice, rising onto his knees and extending his arms like a prophet. “For it is the law of our own, the ancient rite. Tradition in our flesh and blood, passed down through generations. Our forefathers and mothers have taught these sacred words-”

“Stooop!” Peter moaned, swatting at Harley half-heartedly while he tried to suppress his chuckles. “Stop it.”

“THOU SHALT NOT NOT LIKE PETER PA- AAHRGH!” The sentence ended in a screech as Peter lunged at Harley, tackling him onto the couch and trying to shut him up while Harley laughed. “Thou shalt not-”

“Shut up!” Peter yelped, now going for a pillow and trying to smother Harley’s face with it. Harley struggled against it, half laughing and half choking. He wiggled to dislodge Peter from where he was kind of sitting on top of him and it took a few tries before he managed to shove the pillow away and then sit up so he could tip Peter over. 

Peter screeched upon seeing Harley’s smirk and kicked his socked feet at him. “Stay away, foul demon! Begone!” He waved his hands around, one foot pushing against Harley’s shoulder where he had managed to find purchase. Harley just snorted and mimicked biting Peter’s toe which was met with another horrified shriek. “Disgusting!” Harley grabbed Peter’s foot that now wiggled around wildly. “Oh don’t the DARE!”

The evil smirk on Harley’s face was enough to know he very much would dare which was confirmed only a moment later when Peter screeched loudly like a possessed being. Some garbled nonsense came out of his mouth, interrupted by gasps and laughter. He trashed around, kicking at Harley who ducked out of the way, keeping a firm hand around Peter’s ankle and tickling the underside of his foot. 

It took a moment for Peter to get a proper kick in and dislodge Harley from his perch on the couch. He went down with a yelp and landed with a loud ‘OOF’. Peter was breathing heavily, caught somewhere between glaring and laughing. His glasses sat dislodged on his nose and he pushed them up again which did little to improve his disheveled state. His shirt was twisted around his body oddly and his hair stuck up like he has had his hand in an outlet.

“Jesus,” Peter huffed for good matter when he straightened out his shirt.

Harley sorted out his limbs on the floor before being able to get up again, a pleased grin on his face, a twinkle in his eyes and his hair standing up comically. He clicked his tongue. “Nice.”

Peter snorted. 

They hadn’t noticed Tony standing off to the side, having recorded the strange scenario that had just transpired on his couch with a somewhat disturbed expression on his face. 

  
  


**Tony Stark @IamIronMan** **  
**Can someone explain to me what this is supposed to be?

[Video of Peter and Harley shrieking and fighting on the couch]

> **SparkySparkyBoom @rainbowsssss**   
> lol what the hell are they doing?!!?!?!

> **I’m trash and you can’t stop me @trashGay**   
> it’s a mating ritual obviously

>> **Ethan @immabadboi**   
>> and Peter is the uninterested female specimen

>>> **I’m trash and you can’t stop me @trashGay**   
>>> lol yeah u right

> **nyanya @nya_angel**   
> I never thought I’d hear such sounds coming from grown men

> **Peach @peachesbottom**   
> Harley’s nice at the end lamo

> **Ray @RedandBlue_SpaceGays**   
> no one:   
> absolutely no one:   
> Peter: DisGUsTAnG!

> **sleep is for the weak but I’m weak @zzzz32453**   
> may I present you the heir of a billion-dollar company and his boyfriend in their natural habitat

> **commission!!! @snowglobe**   
> omg this is so fucking cute

> **store open (link in bio) @ironymans**   
> I can imagine Tony just walking in on this and questioning what he did wrong in his life

> **KeenerWaifu @keener2223788**   
> note to self: Peter is very ticklish

> **Hyuna @seoulfull**   
> Thou shalt not… I wonder what Harley wanted to say

**Harley Keener plays with Puppies while answering Fan Questions**

The video opened to a light blue backdrop that took up the entire screen. Harley was seated in the middle of it on the floor, back hunched as he bent over to look at the puppy seated in his lap that was nuzzling his cheek. He cooed at it before looking up, presumably at the people behind the camera. 

“You know who this reminds me of?” he asked the room at large, scratching behind the puppy’s ears and making them wiggle back and forth. “This guy here reminds me of my boyfriend.” 

There was laughter and a squawk from behind the camera and Harley grinned.

A solid background color interrupted the video and some cartoonishly drawn dogs bounced around. “The Puppy Interview” appeared at the top which was then replaced by “Featuring: Harley Keener”. The solid background disappeared and the video took over again.

“Hey everybody!” Harley sat on the ground cross-legged and waved at the camera with a bright smile. He was wearing a light grey hoodie and jeans with white sneakers. “I’m Harley Keener and I was promised puppies which is why I’m here.” He clapped his hands. “Bring in the puppies!”

Some people appeared in-frame and dropped off three puppies next to Harley who immediately started having a severe case of heart-eyes. “Oh, oh no,” he said and put a hand over his head. “I don’t think I’ll survive this, you guys. Look at you,” he cooed at the puppies. One of them jumped onto his leg and bit into his shoe and Harley looked like he was about to burst into tears. The other two started playing with each other.

 _Is it weird to have Iron Man as your dad?_ was the first question that was asked. 

“Well…” Harley tilted his head and considered for a moment. The puppy from before was now chewing on his shoelaces while Harley ran a hand along its back. It had cream-colored fur with a few beige patches, floppy ears and the cutest little face. 

“It’s difficult to answer because it’s normal for me. It’s a bit weird to see people having hero worship for my dad because to me he’s just a normal guy though I do know that it’s not the casel. I was always aware I was very privileged but I only realized some of those privileges through Peter who has absolutely no problem telling me when I’m acting snobby or like a typical rich kid.” He looked off-camera with a somewhat fond look in his eyes. 

The two puppies who were playing bumped into him. One, the smaller black one, fell over onto its back and started flailing while the other pounced onto its playmate. They wrangled with one another and Harley snorted as he watched them roughhousing. The one in his lap was not interested at all and just continued playing with Harley’s shoe. 

_Have you ever used an Iron Man suit?_

One puppy made a sound of protest as the roughhousing got too much for its liking. Harley snickered and helped separate the two by lifting the bigger one with a dark brown coat and placing it on his other side. It was confused for a moment before it happy raced back to the other puppy, now playing more fairly.

“No, I haven’t actually,” Harley said. He picked up one of the dog toys lying around and dangled it in front of the roaming puppies’ snouts. They immediately started jumping for the bone-shaped toy and Harley grinned as he watched them. “Blame my nature but I don’t like using that kind of technology solely made by other people, especially when it poses a challenge to make them. But-” he played a quick tug of war with the brown puppy that had managed to get the bone toy between its spiky teeth before letting go because you always let the puppy win no matter what- “I have used something very similar that is not an Iron Man suit.” He gave the camera a meaningful look with raised brows. 

It must have been all he would say on the matter because the next question appeared on-screen.

_If you could only ever eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be?_

Harley huffed out an overwhelmed manner, eyes wide. He was still petting the puppy in his lap. Its fur looked incredibly soft to the touch. “Oh man, asking the hard questions here. Uh…” He scrunched up his nose while he thought. 

The black puppy had found out it could play with the fabric of Harley’s hoodie and was busy mouthing at the cuff of one sleeve. Harley didn’t mind and instead just wiggled his fingers around, occasionally managing to pet the puppy’s head before it would try to mouth at his fingers instead. The other puppy was still content with its bone toy and was sprawled out in front of Harley. 

“I think…” Harley hummed thoughtfully. “It’s so easy to say pizza because there is so much you can do with it but Peter has gotten me into Thai and I love myself a good pad thai or khao soi.” He sighed almost dreamily.

Harley bent down towards the puppies. “Do you like Thai?” he asked them in a baby voice. “Yeah? Curry? Oh, but then you’re gonna breathe fire afterwards… maybe not.” He straightened up again with a grin. “I gotta say, I had khao soi like a few days ago and I ate three bowls or something. It was bad.” He made a face. “Like, not bad like the food, heck no, but bad because I just kept eating and… yeah.” He sent the camera a sheepish look. “But I think I’d have to go with pizza, just more options that way.”

_What is a book that you have read that inspired you?_

Harley cough pointedly and glanced at the camera in an almost embarrassed manner. There was a snort from off-screen. Harley looked in that direction and tried to stifle an embarrassed laugh but was only semi-successful. “Well, this is awkward,” he said to no one in particular but then turned to the puppies like he was expecting a reaction from them. All he got was a yawn from one of them. He copied it in an adorable manner before remembering there had been a question. 

“Right, yeah, well…” He coughed again. It was rare to actually see Harley being this sheepish about something. “Honestly, I never really read books. Maybe for school or occasionally I’ll read scientific papers but I like figuring out things myself and learning by doing and all that jazz.” A quick albeit aimless wave supported his statement. One puppy followed the motion with fascinated eyes and promptly toppled over.

Harley was unsuccessful in stifling an amused snort but managed to continue with his answer. “I have access to advanced technology and some really amazing brains so there was never a need for books. I know a bit about books now because Peter likes reading, also one of our friends consumes books like they’re snacks but uh… I usually just listen to Peter telling me what the books are about. I like knowing about the plot and stuff but I don’t really read them myself. ” He nodded his head.

_How do you make your hair look so good?_

Harley actually burst out laughing and threw his head back. All three puppies turned to him at the sound. The black one tried jumping into his lap as well but the one already there yapped at him and swatted his paw so the other couldn’t get up. They fought for a moment while Harley watched the small brawl unfold with an amused expression, hands supporting him as he leaned back. In the end, the black puppy had enough and retreated, the one in Harley’s lap stretched and then settled down again contently. 

“Aww, are you a bit possessive?” Harley asked and leaned forward. “Do you like me that much? Do you want to keep me to yourself?”

The puppy looked up at him and stretched so he could reach Harley’s face and lick at his cheek. Harley cooed before looking up again.

“You know who this reminds me of?” he asked. It was the same scene from the first few seconds of the video, now with the proper context. “This guy reminds me of my boyfriend.” 

There was an unidentifiable squawk from off-camera and Harley laughed before asking what the question had been because he had been too distracted to remember. There was a cut, the question having been repeated. 

Harley nodded. “Yeah, my hair.” He still thought it was amusing and ran a hand through his hair subconsciously. “I uh… I have shampoo and conditioner and hair masks and then for styling, I just use clay and hair spray. Or when I’m lucky it’s just perfect the way it is.” He grunted. “Not very often but once in a blue moon it happens. Sometimes I also like to use this uh… what’s it called.” He frowned and snapped his fingers, the puppy followed the motion attentively and then pounced onto Harley’s hand. Harley moved his hand around which the puppy tried to catch.

“Sea… sea salt spray?” Harley said after a moment and sent a questioning look to the people behind the camera and then nodded his head. “Yeah, sea salt spray. Also a blow dryer and sometimes a straightener.”

He made finger guns at the camera with one hand because the other was still busy petting the puppy. “I don’t always have perfect hair but I do try to take care of it because I don’t want to look like a crust hay ball.”

_How was it being Tony Stark’s son during your childhood?_

“First you ask about my hair and then you hit me with the deep ones?” Harley asked in fake offendedness but then smiled. He now had two puppies in his lap, the brown of them chewing on his hoodie strings while the other was once again laying there peacefully. The third jumped around and played with the bone toy. Harley watched him with a fond expression.

“Again, it’s normal for me and obviously I was homeschooled so I was never in a typical school environment. I was - or am - very privileged and I was very spoiled in some aspects. I was pretty uh… emancipated? So I’d just make my own decisions and do whatever I wanted. Fortunately, academics weren’t much of a problem so I had a lot of time to fool around and explore my interests.”

Harley thought for a moment and the hummed. “Yeah. My dad didn’t really know what to do with a kid for a long time so we didn’t have the best relationship until I was a teen and even then we had many rough patches because I was kind of reckless.”

The puppy playing with his hoodie strings pulled on one of them, backing away and throwing its head back until the string got longer and bunched up the hem of the hood. Harley just smiled and scratched behind its ears, not bothering to stop the pulling. 

“I didn’t really care but I always knew I couldn’t talk about it and had to keep somewhat of a low profile which is easy when you just stay in the same circles. No one asks questions if you have enough money. You’d be surprised.” He shrugged his shoulders. 

_How do you unwind after a stressful day?_

“Oh!” Harley exclaimed loudly and again all puppies looked at him. The one with the bone toy waddled across the screen and then attacked Harley’s shoe with its tiny teeth as it bumped into it.

“Okay.” Harley shifted, a grin spreading on his face. “Okay, so the perfect way to unwind is either to tinker on something I don’t have to think too hard on _or_ if I’m lucky then my lovely boyfriend is in close vicinity and I can grab him and some strawberries and ice cream and watch a movie and play board games or video games or we go on a walk or maybe to a café and just relax.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath which he then released slowly as if to demonstrate how he would relax.

“I like cuddling a lot,” Harley said offhandedly without sounding embarrassed about the admission like many men surely would. He lifted the puppies in his lap and squished them against his chest as if to prove his point. “So, luckily I have a Peter who is a great cuddler but these puppies are also really, really good. I might just get one and cuddle with it the entire day. I could work on some safety gear for the lab and we’d never have to part.” He bent over to kiss the puppies. “You’d like that, huh?” he asked in a baby voice. “Yes, you would, yes, yes, yes.” He smothered them in even more kisses. 

_What would your perfect date be like?_

“Puppies!” Harley called and raised two puppies into the air like the scene from the lion king before gently putting them down into his lap again. “Do you know that edit where it’s like-” he sang the Lion King song somewhat badly and raised a puppy into the air but quickly set it down again so it wouldn’t be uncomfortable- “and then instead of the original - I don’t even know what that was…” He frowned in an attempt to remember but shook his head. “Instead of the original this monkey just _yeets_ Simba off into Nirvana?” he barked out a laugh and almost toppled over.

“Harley,” came an amused-sounding scold from off-screen. Fans would know the voice belonged to Peter. 

Harley cleared his throat. “Yeah, right, what was the question?”

There was a cut in the video where the question was repeated.

“Ah.” Harley nodded and thought for a moment. “Perfect date with now-Harley or perfect date with single-Harley?”

He looked at the people behind the camera expectantly. “Both?” he asked upon them doing or saying something. “Oh, okay, well current-Harley is pretty happy with anything, really. We can laze around or tinker in the lab or go to central park or whatever. It’s more about the person and the intent and not too much about what you’re doing.” A sweet smile was on his face like he was thinking back to one of such dates. 

“Then when we’re talking about single-Harley… he uh… Honestly, single-Harley was a bit of an ass-” He cut himself off hurried and slapped a hand in front of his mouth, looking up with big eyes. “Am I allowed to say that?” he whispered as if it wouldn’t be heard then but there was a mic clipped to his hoodie so it was picked up clear as day. “No? Yes? No? Okay, well-” he cleared his throat and shifted. “You didn’t hear anything,” Harley said towards one puppy and covered its ears.

“Single-Harley was a bit shallow and had never fallen in love properly so he probably would have tried to convince someone with yacht visits and expensive gifts.” A displeased expression was on Harley’s face as he said this before taking on a more serious note. “Don’t do that by the way. Don’t be that person. If you wanna go on a date try to figure out what they might like and do that. If you have a dog bring it along because everyone loves dogs and if they don’t you better get out of there real quick.”

_What is one thing people don’t know about you?_

“Oh, uh… that’s a tough one actually…” Harley hummed loudly. “I don’t know, what’s something people don’t know about me?” he asked and looked off-camera. There was a short moment of silence before Peter’s muffled voice was heard.

“You’re always on social media.”

Harley grinned. “Yeah, but people know that one.” It was really no secret, everyone knew Harley was lurking on those platforms far to often and would drop a random comment on someone’s post every now and then. Getting a reply from Harley was like winning in the lottery for someone people so they tried to get his attention somehow. Sensible fanart was also not off-limits.

“You’re scared of rats.”

Harley made a horrified face and held the puppies closer to himself. It was unclear whether this was to protect them or to protect himself. “They are awful! They are like small and fast and disgusting and they have a naked tail and-” he shuddered.

There was laughter from off-screen and some people talked.

“Yeah, one time there was one on the subway and Harley legit just jumped into my arms. He wouldn’t let go, he stared at it the entire ride and asked if we could take a different subway,” Peter said and Harley made a pitiful face. 

“Dude, don’t tell them that. Pete, my homeslice, I thought you were on my side.”

Peter snorted. 

_One thing you really dislike?_

“You know how it’s a trend to make brownies or cake or cookies and then the inside is all gooey and runny?” Harley asked and then shuddered. “Bro, that’s-” he shook himself as if he had just seen a spider on his shoulder- “absolutely disgusting. It’s revolting and wrong and when I’m running for president I will ban these abominations from existence.”

_Is it difficult to be gay and in a relationship publicly?_

Harley pressed his lips together and looked at the puppy in his lap thoughtfully. It was still the cream-colored one that had stayed there for the entire interview and it didn’t look like it would be going anywhere soon. 

“You know what?” He looked up. “For me, it’s not. I don’t care what people say and I have the privilege of not needing to care. You slander my name and spread hate and misinformation?” He gave the camera a smug look and shrugged. “I don’t care. If I want to I’ll have people sue depending on what it is. I grew up with this and nothing you throw at me will change who I am so for me it’s not difficult but I’m not the only person in this relationship.”

Harley shot a glance towards Peter before continuing. “Peter didn’t have any experience with being a public figure so he didn’t know how things might play out. We talked about it a lot but even then.” Harley shrugged. “It was never about being gay, we don’t care about that, just about being public but he’s doing amazing.” Harley smiled almost proudly. “Though I do gotta say some people take it too far and forget we’re just people too,” he added at the end.

_Is there something you’d like to say to young people struggling with their sexuality or identity?_

“It’s okay to be scared and it’s okay not to know and it’s also okay to adjust the more you learn about yourself. Don’t be afraid of correcting people, don’t be afraid of cutting people out of your life and never change yourself to make other people more comfortable.”

Harley nodded.

_Do you want to be a superhero like Iron Man?_

Harley chuckled. “Ah, my old man.” He shook his head fondly and then hummed. “I’d say… I don’t know actually. Depends on how you define being a superhero.” He gesture with his hand. 

“I’d like to make the world a better place with the resources at my disposal but sadly most of the world is a raging shi-... There are a lot of fires varying in size and you can’t be everywhere at once. It’s complex and changing something in one place has unforeseen effects on other things so you have to plan carefully. I am trying though so…” Harley shrugged. “If that counts as being a superhero then sure but currently I have no plans on joining any official superhero ranks or punching aliens.”

The video cut to what could be viewed as an outtake. Someone was walking through the background to chase after a puppy while Harley was cuddling with the one who had been in his lap throughout the entire video. 

“Oh cheese, you’re so cute!” he almost squealed and nuzzled the puppy lovingly. “Pete, babe, can we adopt this little fella?” He held the puppy up as if to show Peter. The small dog wagged its tail happuly.

“And put it where? I live in a shoebox and we’re not allowed pets,” came Peter’s voice from off-camera. He did sound like he didn’t want to admit it, like he’d rather just take the puppy and bring it home. Besides, who wouldn’t love to bring a puppy home? These little guys were adorable and in need of a home so the temptation was rather big. 

“Well, I do not live in a shoebox and look at this face!” Harley whined. “He… wait are you a he?” He turned the puppy to take a look. “Yup, he. Look at his face! He’s so cute.”

“I know-”

“Come on!”

“Harley…”

“Here, come here and hold him. I know you wanna.”

There was a moment of silence but then legs appeared in-frame and a second later Peter was crouched next to Harley. He was wearing a white shirt and a red flannel with ripped jeans and converse. Harley handed the puppy over and Peter held him in his arms delicately, one arm supporting him while the other ran through the soft fur. 

It took all of three seconds.

“Oh…” Peter said softly and Harley smirked. 

“Right?” he asked and leaned in with a knowing look on his face. “So?”

Peter held the puppy close and petted him gently. The puppy looked up at him and then stretched to lick at Peter’s chin. Peter in turn looked like he was about to burst into tears. “Oh no,” he croaked. “Oh no, Harley… Harley why are you doing this to me?” he whined. “You know I love dogs. Why are you doing this? I hate you.” The dog was still happily nuzzling Peter like he was his new favorite person.

Harley grinned smugly. “Good job, dude,” he said towards the puppy. “Try hard enough and we’ll walk out of here with you. He loves animals. Just make those puppy eyes and we’ll sneak you out of here.”

“No,” Peter whined. “Who’s gonna take care of him? Where is he supposed to sleep? The vet’s so expensive!”

Harley sent him a deadpan look and then turned towards the people behind the camera that couldn’t be seen. “Does he know I’m a billionaire?” he asked. “Does he know? Like, I know we’re dating and all that but does he know?”

Peter reached over and slapped his shoulder while still keeping the puppy against his chest. “Shut up! Money won’t look after a dog. Don’t just get one because you can.”

Harley looked a bit sheepish at that. “Right, sorry.” He straightened up with a more serious expression. “But seriously, sure dogs are expensive but that’s not a problem. Aren’t there also these dog sitters where people look after them when you’re on vacation and stuff? Besides, I’m sure there are a bunch of people who’d walk a dog if I asked them to.”

“Are you seriously thinking about this?” Peter asked flabbergasted. He was holding the puppy like he didn’t plan on letting go anytime soon and the picture it painted was just precious.

Harley blinked back at him. “I mean, yeah. I love this dude.” He reached over to pet the puppy who turned to look at him with a wagging tail. “We’re in love Pete, can’t you see that?” He made puppy eyes at his boyfriend who stared back in disbelieve but the expression slowly melted off his face. He looked back at the puppy and made a sad face. 

“I know,” Peter almost whined. “I know, he’s cute but… but… that’s so much responsibility… I’m not ready for a child!”

Harley choked on his breath and toppled over backwards with a laugh. “Dude- _dude_!”

“Maybe when we live on a farm or something.”

“Babe, nothing will get you out of New York.”

Peter sighed. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Harley sat up again and reached out to pet the puppy in his boyfriend’s arms. “Okay, maybe not now but soon?” he asked hopefully. 

Peter huffed and rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “Maybe.”

The original video started up again with Harley surrounded by three roaming puppies. “Alright everyone, that was it. I hope you had fun. Also; these adorable fellas can be adopted through ASPCA. Adopt, don’t shop. It’s a dog, not a toy. Be responsible. That’s what I have Peter for.” He nodded his head seriously and then clambered to his feet, bending down slightly to look at the camera again. “That said, I’ll just take this one.” He picked up the cream-colored puppy. “Alright, bye bye.”

With a wave and with laughter ringing from behind the camera, Harley walked out of shot with the puppy in his arms.

The video faded to black.

**Balmera**   
they seriously almost adopted that puppy jskdalksdslada 

**Ivory_x**   
oh my god this was way too cute

 **Leo Grimmer**   
puppy: exists   
Harley: this puppy reminds me of Peter :D

 **IU ma girl**   
Harley: Peter tells me when I act snobbish   
literally five minutes later   
Harley: I’m rich, I can get a puppy   
Peter: don’t get one just because you’re rich   
Harley: right sorry °-°

 **Roxanna with Roses**   
is Harley up for adoption as well?

 **Melody S**   
I want to be one of those puppies. screw my bachelor, I don’t need a degree to become a puppy

 **Mamora Blade**   
this is what you’re greeted with when you enter heaven

 **Princess Allura**   
puppy: yawns   
Harley: yawns back to assert dominance

 **Bella Lester**   
just in: Harley Keener is scared of rats   
I don’t know why I find this hilarious

 **Scarlet P**   
Harley is so cute and soft, I wanna give him as many hugs as he’d let me

 **ShiBear**   
that puppy was freaking adorable

 **NinjaTurtle23**   
Harley’s lap:   
puppy: it’s free real estate

 **Iron Muppet**   
puppy:   
Harley and Peter: i luv uuuu <3

 **garbageCAN**   
Harley giving relationship advice lol didn’t know I needed that but I needed that

 **ImmaTrash**   
Harley for President!!!

 **WolfBoi69**   
I love how he is constantly talking to Peter behind the camera lol

 **Keeeeener**   
I did not know Harley was so educated about hair care. most guys just slap one a 5 in one dish soap and laundry detergent and call it done. now I wanna know what his hair feels like. must be so soft shsmsdhsnm

 **CuddleMaster3000**   
Harley: I like to cuddle   
Me: my time has come

 **shinaaa6635**   
once again addressing the creeps, loving it

 **Britney Bitch**   
they really are the gay power couple of New York, I love them

**Harley Keener @PotatoSupreme**

[The video shown was shot from Harley’s phone, focused on Peter who was sitting next to him on the couch with a small frown on his face, almost looking like he was pouting. 

“Tutorial,” Harley said from behind the camera, voice amused.

“Tutorioil,” Peter said, sounding sure.

Harley let out an amused huff. “Tutorial,” he repeated.

“Tutoriol, that’s what I said,” Peter said.

Harley snickered. “No, you’re saying it wrong. Tutorial.”

Peter grunted and puffed out his cheeks. “Tut- tutoil- tutoreal- argh.”

Harley continued laughing quietly, small snickers reaching the microphone. “Tutorial,” he said teasingly slow like the little shit he was.

“Turitoil. JESUS!” Peter threw his hands up into the air and then gripped his hair. “That’s what I said! I said it! I’m saying tutorioil-... Stop laughing, asshole!” Peter charged at Harley who was now laughing loudly. The image shook and the video cut out.]

that feeling when you bf is unable to pronounce the word “tutorial”

> **Peter Parker @peterbparker**   
> leave my dyslexic ass alone

>> **Harley Keener @PotatoSupreme**   
>> lol love you babe

  
  


> **sleep is for the weak but I’m weak @zzzz32453**   
> WHAT?!

> **purple @taetaebear**   
> Peter has dyslexia???????????????

> **Jon @Jon_Arrow**   
> isn’t that where people can’t read?

> **me @medotorg**   
> omg the way he said that

> **Bianca @sillyBee**   
> I have dyslexia too!!

> **Zuko is ma boo @atlafangirl**   
> guys he said that as a joke, Peter doesn’t have dyslexia

> **Madison Summer @MaddisonSummer**   
> Peter, please educate yourself. Just because you can’t pronounce something doesn’t mean you have dyslexia. Besides, dyslexia is the inability to spell or read things correctly. It has nothing to do with speech.

>> **YeeHaw @YeeYaw**   
>> um… do you have dyslexia?

>>> **Madison Summer @MaddisonSummer**   
>>> No, but that is common knowledge.

>>>> **Bianca @sillyBee**   
>>>> actually dyslexia can affect your speech as well. it’s not just the way your write or read

>>>>> **Madison Summer @MaddisonSummer**   
>>>>> My cousin has dyslexia and he doesn’t do this. It’s offensive and Peter should apologize.

> **Laura @cheeseandToast**   
> lol, I have the same problem and my friends find it hilarious

> ~ **X_X~ @munny**   
> wow someone should tell Peter not to say stuff like that

> **SparkySparkyBoom @rainbowsssss**   
> does anyone know if hes actually dyslexic?

>> **RayRay @raymond**   
>> he’s not, it’s just a saying and kinda offensive at that

>>> **SparkySparkyBoom @rainbowsssss**   
>>> oh okay…. that sucks

The livestream started and actually had a really good quality which was unusual for livestreams. Shown was Peter in a dark blue shirt, sitting at a desk and looking at the camera with a shy smile. Behind him, there was a wall of tall windows showing the skyscrapers of downtown Manhattan. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure he was at Stark Tower. The number of viewers climbed quickly even within the first few moments and just increased after this. 

“Okay so, I’m just gonna wait a minute or so before I start talking,” Peter said and fiddled with something off to the side. Comments flooded the chat, asking how he was, wondering if Harley was around, wanting to know what he was working on, or saying the loved him. Time ticked by and after roughly a minute Peter focused back onto the camera with another smile. The object he had been fiddling with was put aside without comment.

“Alright, hey everyone.” He sent the camera a small hesitant wave. Compared to Harley’s presence in livestreams he was almost timid in his approach. “Uh, this is the first time I’m doing this so I hope I’m not doing it wrong.” 

“You’re doing great, babes!” came a very familiar voice from the background and Peter looked to the side with a smile before returning his gaze to the camera. His eyes switched back and forth, probably reading the comments that were popping up in quickly succession. “Yeah, Harley’s here because I’m anxious,” he said with a shy grin upon spotting several questions about the other’s presence. 

Peter looked up again and a moment later Harley poked his head into frame. “Hey everyone.” He grinned brightly and waved. On top of his head sat a baseball cap backwards, holding his hair out of his face, and the chat exploded. “Yeah, y’all thirsting. Calm it down,” he teased and poked out his tongue. “Bye~” He waved and disappeared from view again. Some people asked him to come back, please.

Peter just snorted and shook his head. “Okay, anyway, I thought… well, actually I didn’t really plan this but okay.” He cleared his throat and shifted on his seat. He looked worried. “So, I posted something about being dyslexic and uhh… a lot of people had something to say about that so… I thought I should clarify some things before I go crazy. So first things first, I am dyslexic.”

He let that sink in for a moment before continuing. “Some people were offended when I said that or said I’m not dyslexic which… I don’t really understand because I never said anything about that but okay, I guess I understand where they are coming from but hi, I’m Peter and I’m dyslexic.” Peter managed a somewhat strained smile as he eyed the chat cautiously but the comments were going a bit too fast for him to read. He couldn’t see most of the reactions to that statement and Peter wasn’t sure if he wanted to. Instead, he decided to continue before he chickened out.

“For those of you who don’t know, dyslexia is a learning disability which affects the way your brain processes language. It affects primarily reading and writing skills but it also impacts speech sometimes. I don’t really know what else to say so I’ll try to read some questions if you have any and answer those? I’m not…” he faltered and chewed on his lower lip. “I’m not a doctor though so… yeah.”

Peter leaned forward, eyes switching back and forth and brows furrowed just slightly as he tried his best to catch a question. He was still feeling a bit jittery but he was in a place where he felt comfortable, Harley was right there and if he needed to he could just end the livestream. 

“How do you know you’re dyslexic?” He hummed. It was a question he had expected and while it wasn’t nice to have to justify yourself Peter chose to see it as a genuine question and not an accusation. “Well, apart from the fact that it’s pretty spot on and always has been, I got an unofficial diagnosis and then later an official one so yeah, it’s legit and not just a quirky trait I thought was cool. I’d never do that.” He hoped people knew this but with how things had been the last few days he wasn’t sure. Insecurity was not a nice feeling and he’s been taking advantage of Harley’s love for cuddles recently. More so than usual.

“Does that mean you can’t read?” Peter huffed and made a face that communicated something along the lines of ‘I have been asked this so often it’s not even funny anymore’. He had lost the energy for being properly annoyed about this particular question along with a few other ones so he couldn’t help his reaction. “No, I can read just fine, just slower and with more patience. I’m bad at reading long passages out loud so I’m not a good story reader but I can read and I really like reading.”

People were always surprised to hear this, especially those who had seen him have a breakdown in school. Texts you were supposed to read in a limited amount of time that didn’t interest him in the slightest or used unfamiliar language were simply not what Peter like to read. Then again, just because you liked reading in general didn’t mean you would love reading anything that existed. 

“Since when have you known you were dyslexic?” Peter hummed softly, eyebrows furrowing slightly as he tried to figure out the years that seemed so far away by now. “Around the start of high school, roughly? A teacher said she had a hunch I had a learning disability so we looked into it and-” he shrugged, not finishing the sentence. He didn’t have to, he had already answered that. Peter gave the camera a soft smile and continued looking for questions he wouldn’t mind too much answering. 

Some of those questions being asked were way off-topic, some were directed at Harley or asking about Harley and some were either plain rude of pretty invasive. Peter knew why he usually didn’t hang out on social media. He might not be a frail person but he wasn’t like Harley and he wasn’t used to everyone stating their opinion of him publicly. He didn’t regard himself as a celebrity. If anything, he’d be a celebrity twice removed or something. Having people be so invested in his life was strange but thankfully he usually only took notice of the good aspects. 

Apparently he was handling “fame” quite well according to everyone around him. Pepper had told him repeatedly how nice it was to have someone she didn’t have to worry about constantly. 

Sometimes Peter got a bit overwhelmed though. It could feel like everyone expected him to always do things right, like he wasn’t allowed to make mistakes or say something that could be interpreted incorrectly. It was a lot of pressure but having Harley who just plowed on unapologetically right next to him helped a lot. Well, that and the fact that their friends hadn’t changed in the least and most… fans were nice and respectful. It was those few odd ones out who stood out more than the rest but you just had to ignore those for your mental health. 

If there was one thing Peter was good at it was completely ignoring mean comments. 

After a few moments of reading questions Peter found one he actually wanted to answer. “Does that mean you really are disabled?” The loaded question that had been following him for a long time. He couldn’t remember when it had started but it had been brought up occasionally and then more frequently after that WIRED interview. 

Peter didn’t regret kind of ominously foreshadowing something with his reaction to the question but he hadn’t expected people to be this invested. It was something he was still surprised by even after all the crazy things that had already happened. 

“For me, yes,” he answered easily. He had never had a problem identifying with the word. After the initial shock of realizing he could call himself disabled, of course. He couldn’t imagine someone, especially a child, not needing a bit to come to terms with officially being different from others. The word carried a lot of meaning and weight and everyone had to figure out how they felt about it and in what ways it applied to them or affected their lives. 

Peter had needed a while to accept the word and while he didn’t mind anymore he understood why some people with dyslexia or other disabilities did not identify with it. It was different for everyone but he did feel like he was not as able as other people to interact with the world as society envisioned. He needed adjustments and help and did things differently so for him that was enough to feel like the word “disabled” was a small part of him.

“Some people don’t like saying they are disabled because of dyslexia but it is a learning disability and for me…” Peter considered his words for a moment. “I usually don’t say I’m disabled to people out of the blue? I usually just say I’m dyslexic and explain what it is when people don’t know but I don’t go around calling myself disabled at every opportunity. It’s too much of a hassle because I can pass as completely ‘normal’.” Peter did quotation marks and a face at the word. He had never liked it. “It takes more energy to explain than I’d like so yeah, I just call myself dyslexic most of the time.” He gave the camera another shy smile.

He was sure people would have debates over this but he wouldn't go looking for it. If people wanted to debate then sure, he’d leave them to it, but Peter didn’t want to be part of it. This part was done for him. Sure, he was still learning new things and figuring out how to roll with his disability and its consequences but he wouldn’t suddenly change his mind about it. He’s had enough time to figure out the word “disabled” and what it meant to him, he didn’t need other people telling him how to feel about it. It was an individual journey no one should forcefully interfere in without being asked to do so. 

“Do you have trouble reading and writing?” was the next question that came up and Peter huffed out a small laugh. “Yeah, I do. I didn’t get any extra or specified schooling because of my dyslexia when I was younger so that made it harder for me later on. I get by and I don’t mind it much anymore but to this day I still write Harley’s name wrong occasionally when I’m not paying attention.” It had been mortifying in the beginning. Peter could still remember the stress-sweat clinging to him whenever he had to write his boyfriend’s name and checking five times whether it was right. Now he just wrote whatever wanted to escape his hand.

“But it’s cute!” came Harley’s voice from off-screen and Peter chuckled softly, shaking his head. He knew Harley liked what kind of versions Peter came up with. His favorite, to this day, was still “Halay”.

“Does the prounciating thing happen often?” Peter halted for a moment and frowned, realizing the small mishap. “I…” he huffed, somewhat amused about the comical timing. “There is your answer.” He said with a laugh like that was the end of it but then shook his head and continued. “No, actually not too often but often enough. When you don’t know you probably won’t notice but when you do, you will. It’s mostly longer words or words that are just… easy to mispronounce. Sometimes I notice, sometimes I don’t. I know what I want to say but it comes out wrong. Especially when I’m distracted or nervous.” He fiddled with the neckline of his shirt. 

“It’s one of those things people don’t know about. It’s not that I can’t read the words, my brain just messes them up between seeing and processing them. Same with speaking. I know I want to say…” He frowned, thinking for a moment and then turned towards Harley. “What was that word a few days ago?” 

Harley understood without further explanation, laughing quietly from his workstation. “Tutorial.”

Peter turned back to the camera. “Yeah, tutorial.” He said it right this time and gestured with his hands as he continued his explanation. “I know how to say it in my head like… it’s not like I’ve never heard or said it before but between my brain and my mouth something gets jumbled up and out comes something different.” Peter chuckled and shrugged. “Most people don’t know about that aspect. Harley didn’t either but he’s gotten used to my remixing.”

Peter suddenly remembered something and groaned. He raised his hand and punctuated each word with it for emphasis. “I cannot tell you how stressed I was during that WIRED interview. Urgh.” He facepalmed and dragged his hand down his face, staring into the camera to convey his despair. “Like, I knew I messed up a few times but then I watched it when it came out and I could tell exactly when I messed up and where my brain to mouth filter just glitched but I think people who aren’t looking for it don’t notice it as much.”

“I didn’t notice for months,” Harley called. “Not until you told me so no, people who aren’t looking for it won’t notice, I’m pretty sure.”

Peter hummed and read through some more comments until the one he had been waiting for caught his eye and he pursed his lips. “Someone just said ‘but you’re so smart’.” Peter sighed and tried to sort out his thoughts for a moment before continuing. “Yeah, dyslexia has nothing to do with intelligence but thanks for the backhanded compliment,” he said with a deadpan look. He shook his head. “I honestly don’t know what to say to that so… I’ll just say it again; dyslexia has nothing to do with intelligence.”

“Damn fuck it doesn’t!” came Harley’s dismembered voice from the background once again. Peter turned to look in his direction. “My babe can’t read and can’t spell “ridiculous” or “opportunity” right for the life of him but he can tell you _exactly_ why time is relative and is this close to creating a wormhole.” Harley held up a hand with his thumb and forefinger just barely not touching. “This fucking close!” He shook his hand for emphasis although no one besides Peter would be able to see it. 

Peter just snorted and shook his head, turning back to the camera. “I am, in fact, not about to create a wormhole.”

“But you could.”

“I doubt it.”

“We should try.”

Peter shook his head. “We really shouldn’t.”

They two boys seemed to have a staring contest which Peter won if the muted grumbling in the background and his gleeful expression was anything to go by. 

“He can teach you a fuckton about space though,” Harley muttered defensively like he had to have the last word and felt the need to justify Peter to Peter himself. 

“That I can actually,” Peter agreed with a hum. He couldn’t argue with that statement and it felt like it was common knowledge by now. “Space is neat.”

Harley saw an opportunity and took it. “You’re neat,” he said with a flirty smirk. 

“Can you stop please?” Peter said exasperatedly but with an undeniable fondness in his voice. He smiled and shook his head. “He’s not doing anything by the way,” he said towards the camera of his phone, waving his hand in Harley’s direction where said boyfriend was sitting and watching him. “He’s just sitting there pretending to do something but he’s just staring at me like a creep.”

Harley scoffed. “We’re four years into this, Pete. It’s too late to be a creep.”

“It’s never too late to be a creep.”

“Right, bring that up again me when you tell me my toes remind you of sentient sausages.”

Peter made a half embarrassed, half offended face. “I was _drunk_ , okay?”

Harley snorted. “Sure, Jan.”

The chat of this livestream was a gigantic mess.

But Peter could say he felt a bit lighter now that the “big secret” was finally out. He didn’t know if people would bother him because of it or if they would make a big deal out of it. Maybe they wouldn’t care and just leave him alone but if they didn’t he could always just unleash Harley onto them. Tony would probably be more than happy to hunt down some people as well. Pepper too.

Peter smiled to himself. 

Yeah, he would be fine.

**Author's Note:**

> It would mean a lot to me if you left a comment in case you liked the story. Comments keep me going and motivated to write more <3  
> You can also visit my [Twitter](https://twitter.com/DancingSkys) or [CuriousCat](https://curiouscat.me/DancingSkys) if you'd like to talk/follow.


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